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A recent surge of mpox infections in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is cause for alarm. Here's why we need a comprehensive response.
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Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is spreading rapidly through DRC and beyond its borders, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the upsurge a public health emergency of international concern. In DRC, confirmed cases have now been reported in the eastern provinces of South and North Kivu, where almost a million displaced people are living in overcrowded conditions. This raises fears of a major outbreak, as a genetic mutation has been causing uninterrupted human-to-human transmission of the virus for months.
In response, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been mobilizing emergency teams to respond throughout DRC, supporting the treatment of more than 1,159 patients since June 17. MSF is also calling on countries with stockpiles of the MVA-BN vaccine—and are not facing active outbreaks—to donate as many doses as possible to affected countries in Africa. We are also calling on the company that makes the vaccine, Bavarian Nordic, to do more to make sure the vaccine is available and affordable for those who need it most.
Learn more about the mpox outbreak and how MSF is responding > |
