WHO's vaccination readiness checks in Africa vital to combating mpox

The Manila Times

WHO's vaccination readiness checks in Africa vital to combating mpox  United Nations Deputy Spokesman Farhan Hag on Aug. 15, 2024 reiterates the World Health Organization's announcement calling the mpox virus a "public health emergency of international concern." The World Health Organization declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, following an outbreak of the viral infection in Democratic Republic of Congo that has spread to neighboring countries. The outbreak in Congo began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as clade I. But a new variant, clade Ib, appears to spread more easily through routine close contact, including sexual contact. Mpox can spread through close contact. Usually mild, it is fatal in rare cases. It causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body.  REUTERS VIDEO  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe    Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net    Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion    Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital    Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein   #TheManilaTimes #tmtnews #mpox #worldhealthorganization #monkeypox #africa

Transcript

00:00We certainly assess that the overwhelming proportion of the cases on the continent,

00:17about 9 out of 10 of all cases that are identified, are occurring within the Democratic Republic

00:23of the Congo, and I should also add that we do think that there's increasing concern

00:29and an increasing need to really ramp up the response efforts within Burundi in particular,

00:34in addition to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

00:44Vaccines are one among a large number of tools available to us to make sure that people can

00:50help protect themselves and protect their communities.

00:53With vaccinations, we're really excited to be working very hard with countries at this

00:58moment in time, with national regulatory authorities, especially following the activation

01:04of what we call emergency use listing.

01:07But really critically, the WHO is already working to support country capacity to use

01:13approved vaccines once they arrive, because vaccines on the tarmac is not enough.

01:20Vaccines need to be turned into vaccinations in order to be effective.

01:24So we work with countries, we conduct rapid readiness assessments to identify where there

01:28are capacity gaps, and we're already doing the work that is necessary to fill those gaps

01:34and make sure that ultimately we are here to get people protected and to save lives.

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