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Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Europe, is confident Europe can control monkeypox but called for more sustained support and solidarity with Africa.
In mid-August, a new strain of the virus, Type 1, spread across Africa, causing more than 17,000 cases, including one in Sweden, Europe, leading the World Health Organization to declare the outbreak a public health emergency.
Krugman briefs reporters in Geneva persist in The risk to the general population is “low” and mpox “is not ‘new COVID'”.
“We know how to control MPox and, in the European region, take the necessary measures to completely eliminate its transmission,” Kluge said, referring to the 2022 MPox type 2 outbreak in Europe. It can be easily controlled through “behavior change, non-discriminatory public health actions and mpox vaccination”.
However, he said the European region had “not done enough” to eliminate the disease and was currently seeing about 100 new cases of Ebola type 2 each month.
The European Union’s Health Security Committee met on Monday (August 19) and agreed that while the clade Ib variant of mpox appears to be more contagious and deadly and poses a threat, it should not be considered a public health emergency in Europe.
The Commission invites the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) risk assessmentThe study found that the overall risk of sustained transmission in Europe was very low.
However, given the close travel links between the two continents, there remains the possibility of imported cases by travelers to affected areas, so precautions should be taken.
Panic, then ignore
Krugman stressed that African countries face major challenges in controlling the epidemic, and the issue of vaccination is particularly important. “How we respond now and in the next few years will be a severe test for Europe and the world.”
The World Health Organization recommends the use of several vaccines, including MWA-BN (Bavarian Nordic vaccine), LC16 vaccine, or ACAM2000 when no other vaccines are available.
Japan has what it describes as a “large” stockpile of LC16 vaccines.
The EU has also pledged to donate 175,420 doses of MVA-BN® vaccine to Africa CDC through its Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Agency (HERA) as an emergency response measure.
In addition, the vaccine manufacturer has donated 40,000 doses of the vaccine to HERA. The Africa CDC will distribute the vaccine based on regional needs, and the first batch of vaccines is expected to be delivered in early September. Discussions on logistical arrangements are currently underway.
One problem is that the vaccine can only be shipped to countries that have received emergency use authorization. Currently, that applies to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria.
The European Commission told Euractiv that it is closely monitoring the development of the outbreak with the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Agency (HERA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and assessing the availability of medical countermeasures.
They added that the committee stood ready to support large-scale production of vaccines, therapeutics or any other relevant medical countermeasures if needed.The EMA has already taken action to speed up approval of another manufacturing site in Denmark.
In one blog Writing in the open-access journal PLOS, Nadia Adjoa Sam-Agudu, professor of pediatrics and director of the Global Pediatrics Program at the University of Minnesota Medical School, said: “The resurgence of African swine fever in Africa points to the lack of ‘globality’ in global health. After several outbreaks, two PHEICs (public health emergencies of international concern) and a PHECS, Africa’s response to African swine fever should be different: equitable, sustainable and consistent with global health principles.”
Sam-Agudu believes that the 215,000 doses of vaccine proposed by the EU are seriously insufficient; it can only fully vaccinate 108,000 people, and vaccination is not yet recommended for people under the age of 18, who account for 67% of suspected cases and 78% of suspected deaths in the current epidemic.
Bavarian Nordic (BN) is seeking authorization for its vaccine for use in young people and has submitted an application to the EMA for use of its vaccine in adolescents. The company will also initiate a clinical trial to evaluate the safety of MVA-BN in children aged 2 to 12 years with support from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).
Barisan Nasional Informed Africa CDC says it can supply up to 2 million doses of vaccine this year and 10 million doses by the end of 2025.
Sam-Agudu said there is a need for African leadership to establish equal partnerships with investment partners, noting Mpox Africa-led Research Consortium (MpoxReC) It was established in recognition of the need for sustainable local diagnostic tools, infrastructure and research capacity in African countries where MPOX is endemic.
(Editing by Alice Taylor)
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