Oct. 4, 2024 / UPI
The World Health Organization said Thursday it approved the first mpox invitro diagnostic test for emergency use. The Affinity m MPXV assay, made by Abbott Molecular, will expand global diagnostic capacity.
FIle Photo by Chris Milosi/EPA-EFE
Oct. 4 (UPI) -- The World Health Organization said Thursday it approved the first mpox invitro diagnostic test for emergency use.
The Alinity m MPXV assay, made by Abbott Molecular, will expand diagnostic capacity for nations dealing with mpox outbreaks, the WHO said.
In Africa, WHO said, limited testing capacity and delays in confirming cases contribute to the continuing mpox spread. Approval of this test is an important step in expanding global access to mpox testing.
"This first mpox diagnostic test listed under the Emergency Use Listing procedure represents a significant milestone in expanding testing availability in affected countries," said the WHO's Dr. Yukiko Nakatani in a statement. "Increasing access to quality-assured medical products is central to our efforts in assisting countries to contain the spread of the virus and protect their people, especially in underserved regions."
According to WHO, in 2024 more than 30,000 suspected mpox cases have been reported across Africa. The highest numbers were in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Nigeria.
The Alinity m MPXV assay is a real-time PCR test using swabs of skin lesions. It is approved under WHO's Emergency Use Listing procedure.
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EUL is used for vaccines, tests, and medical treatments.
"The EUL process assesses the quality, safety, and performance of essential health products, such as diagnostic tests, to guide procurement agencies and WHO Member States in making informed decisions for time-limited emergency procurement," the WHO said in a statement.
Oct. 4 (UPI) -- The World Health Organization said Thursday it approved the first mpox invitro diagnostic test for emergency use.
The Alinity m MPXV assay, made by Abbott Molecular, will expand diagnostic capacity for nations dealing with mpox outbreaks, the WHO said.
In Africa, WHO said, limited testing capacity and delays in confirming cases contribute to the continuing mpox spread. Approval of this test is an important step in expanding global access to mpox testing.
"This first mpox diagnostic test listed under the Emergency Use Listing procedure represents a significant milestone in expanding testing availability in affected countries," said the WHO's Dr. Yukiko Nakatani in a statement. "Increasing access to quality-assured medical products is central to our efforts in assisting countries to contain the spread of the virus and protect their people, especially in underserved regions."
According to WHO, in 2024 more than 30,000 suspected mpox cases have been reported across Africa. The highest numbers were in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Nigeria.
The Alinity m MPXV assay is a real-time PCR test using swabs of skin lesions. It is approved under WHO's Emergency Use Listing procedure.
Advertisement
EUL is used for vaccines, tests, and medical treatments.
"The EUL process assesses the quality, safety, and performance of essential health products, such as diagnostic tests, to guide procurement agencies and WHO Member States in making informed decisions for time-limited emergency procurement," the WHO said in a statement.
Congo finally beginsmpox vaccinations in a drive to slow outbreaks
A health worker attends to a mpox patient, at a treatment centre in Munigi, eastern Congo, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa, File)
A health worker attends to an mpox patient, at a treatment center in Munigi, eastern Congo, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa, File)
A man receives a vaccination against mpox, at the General hospital, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
A man receives a vaccination against mpox, at the General hospital, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
BY RUTH ALONGA
October 5, 2024
GOMA, Congo (AP) — Congolese authorities Saturday began vaccinations against mpox, nearly two months after the disease outbreak that spread from Congo to several African countries and beyond was declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization.
The 265,000 doses donated to Congo by the European Union and the U.S. were rolled out in the eastern city of Goma in North Kivu province, where hospitals and health workers have been overstretched, struggling to contain the new and possibly more infectious strain of mpox.
Congo, with about 30,000 suspected mpox cases and 859 deaths, accounts for more than 80% of all the cases and 99% of all the deaths reported in Africa this year. All of the Central African nation’s 26 provinces have recorded mpox cases.
Although most mpox infections and deaths recorded in Congo are in children under age 15, the doses being administered are only meant for adults and will be given to at-risk populations and front-line workers, Health Minister Roger Kamba said this week.
“Strategies have been put in place by the services in order to vaccinate all targeted personnel,” Muboyayi ChikayaI, the minister’s chief of staff, said as he kicked off the vaccination.
Rwanda begins vaccinations against mpox amid a call for more doses for Africa
WHO and Africa CDC launch a response plan to the mpox outbreak
At least 3 million doses of the vaccine approved for use in children are expected from Japan in the coming days, Kamba said.
Mpox, also known as monkeypox, had been spreading mostly undetected for years in Africabefore the disease prompted the 2022 global outbreak that saw wealthy countries quickly respond with vaccines from their stockpiles while Africa received only a few doses despite pleas from its governments.
However, unlike the global outbreak in 2022 that was overwhelmingly focused in gay and bisexual men, mpox in Africa is now being spread via sexual transmission as well as through close contact among children, pregnant women and other vulnerable groups, Dr. Dimie Ogoina, the chair of WHO’s mpox emergency committee, recently told reporters.
More than 34,000 suspected cases and 866 deaths from the virus have been recorded across 16 countries in Africa this year. That is a 200% increase compared to the same period last year, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
But access to vaccines remains a challenge.
The continent of 1.4 billion people has only secured commitment for 5.9 million doses of mpox vaccines, expected to be available from October through December, Dr. Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa CDC, told reporters last week. Congo remains a priority, he said.
At the vaccination drive in Goma, Dr. Jean Bruno Ngenze, the WHO representative in the province, warned that North Kivu is at a risk of a major outbreak due to the “promiscuity observed in the camps” for displaced people, as one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis caused by armed violence unfolds there.
The news of the vaccination program brought relief among many in Congo, especially in hospitals that had been struggling to manage the outbreak.
“If everyone could be vaccinated, it would be even better to stop the spread of the disease,” said Dr. Musole Mulambamunva Robert, the medical director of Kavumu Hospital, one of the mpox treatment centers in eastern Congo.
Eastern Congo has been beset by conflict for years, with more than 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich area near the border with Rwanda. Some have been accused of carrying out mass killings.
___
Associated Press writers Jean-Yves Kamale in Kinshasa, Congo and Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria contributed to this report.
___
The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org
by TaboolaSuggested For You
A health worker attends to a mpox patient, at a treatment centre in Munigi, eastern Congo, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa, File)
A health worker attends to an mpox patient, at a treatment center in Munigi, eastern Congo, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa, File)
A man receives a vaccination against mpox, at the General hospital, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
A man receives a vaccination against mpox, at the General hospital, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
BY RUTH ALONGA
October 5, 2024
GOMA, Congo (AP) — Congolese authorities Saturday began vaccinations against mpox, nearly two months after the disease outbreak that spread from Congo to several African countries and beyond was declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization.
The 265,000 doses donated to Congo by the European Union and the U.S. were rolled out in the eastern city of Goma in North Kivu province, where hospitals and health workers have been overstretched, struggling to contain the new and possibly more infectious strain of mpox.
Congo, with about 30,000 suspected mpox cases and 859 deaths, accounts for more than 80% of all the cases and 99% of all the deaths reported in Africa this year. All of the Central African nation’s 26 provinces have recorded mpox cases.
Although most mpox infections and deaths recorded in Congo are in children under age 15, the doses being administered are only meant for adults and will be given to at-risk populations and front-line workers, Health Minister Roger Kamba said this week.
“Strategies have been put in place by the services in order to vaccinate all targeted personnel,” Muboyayi ChikayaI, the minister’s chief of staff, said as he kicked off the vaccination.
Rwanda begins vaccinations against mpox amid a call for more doses for Africa
WHO and Africa CDC launch a response plan to the mpox outbreak
At least 3 million doses of the vaccine approved for use in children are expected from Japan in the coming days, Kamba said.
Mpox, also known as monkeypox, had been spreading mostly undetected for years in Africabefore the disease prompted the 2022 global outbreak that saw wealthy countries quickly respond with vaccines from their stockpiles while Africa received only a few doses despite pleas from its governments.
However, unlike the global outbreak in 2022 that was overwhelmingly focused in gay and bisexual men, mpox in Africa is now being spread via sexual transmission as well as through close contact among children, pregnant women and other vulnerable groups, Dr. Dimie Ogoina, the chair of WHO’s mpox emergency committee, recently told reporters.
More than 34,000 suspected cases and 866 deaths from the virus have been recorded across 16 countries in Africa this year. That is a 200% increase compared to the same period last year, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
But access to vaccines remains a challenge.
The continent of 1.4 billion people has only secured commitment for 5.9 million doses of mpox vaccines, expected to be available from October through December, Dr. Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa CDC, told reporters last week. Congo remains a priority, he said.
At the vaccination drive in Goma, Dr. Jean Bruno Ngenze, the WHO representative in the province, warned that North Kivu is at a risk of a major outbreak due to the “promiscuity observed in the camps” for displaced people, as one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis caused by armed violence unfolds there.
The news of the vaccination program brought relief among many in Congo, especially in hospitals that had been struggling to manage the outbreak.
“If everyone could be vaccinated, it would be even better to stop the spread of the disease,” said Dr. Musole Mulambamunva Robert, the medical director of Kavumu Hospital, one of the mpox treatment centers in eastern Congo.
Eastern Congo has been beset by conflict for years, with more than 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich area near the border with Rwanda. Some have been accused of carrying out mass killings.
___
Associated Press writers Jean-Yves Kamale in Kinshasa, Congo and Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria contributed to this report.
___
The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org
by TaboolaSuggested For You
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