Rwanda has become the first African country to administer vaccines against the Mpox virus. The African Union’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) announced on Thursday, September 19, that several hundred high-risk individuals in Rwanda received the vaccine.
The initial batch of 300 doses was administered on Tuesday, September 17, near Rwanda’s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has been severely affected by the virus. The DRC is expected to launch its own vaccination campaign in early October.
Mpox is a viral infection transmitted from animals to humans and through close physical contact. While it can be deadly in some cases, causing symptoms like fever, muscle aches, and skin lesions, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recently prequalified a vaccine for the virus.
Africa CDC reports a total of 29,152 mpox cases and 738 deaths across 15 African nations. However, the agency warns that the virus is not under control and that testing remains a significant challenge.
The WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has expressed concern about the ongoing outbreaks in various regions, particularly in Burundi and the DRC.
