Mpox vaccines administered in Rwanda, first in Africa
The Peninsula
Nairobi: Mpox vaccines have been administered in Africa for the first time, with several hundred high risk individuals vaccinated in Rwanda, the Afric...
Nairobi: Mpox vaccines have been administered in Africa for the first time, with several hundred high-risk individuals vaccinated in Rwanda, the African Union's disease control centre said Thursday.
The first 300 doses were administered on Tuesday near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, a spokesperson for the AU's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) told AFP.
The DRC has been the worst-affected country, with nearly 22,000 cases and more than 700 deaths linked to the virus between January and August.
On a call with reporters, Africa CDC director general Jean Kaseya said vaccinations would start in the DRC in "the first week of October".
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals which can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact.
