WHO Will Mass Test Africa After Reports of Over 1,500 Alleged Cases of Monkeypox

Liputan6.com, Jakarta – World Health Organization (WHO) is in the process of procuring thousands of tests monkey pox for Africa but does not recommend mass vaccination at this stage, said Africa Director Matshidiso Moeti.

He added that the continent should be ready for vaccinations if needed.

The decision to start preparations comes as new cases have been reported.

This year, the continent has documented 1,597 suspected cases of monkeypox, with 66 deaths, the managing director of the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Africa), Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, said on Thursday. This is as quoted from the page Al JazeeraFriday (17/6/2022).

Monkeypoxa mild viral infection, endemic in 11 African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Nigeria.

There is no known vaccine at this time, but the smallpox vaccine has been shown to offer up to 85 percent protection against monkeypox.

Health administrators now believe that when smallpox vaccination campaigns begin to contain monkeypox around the world, it must start in Africa.

“Our position is that vaccination is an important tool and needs to start here in Africa,” Ouma said during a weekly briefing by the Africa CDC.

“Here … the burden is greater, the risk is higher and the geographic spread is also wider,” he said.

Confirmed cases in Africa were reported from Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, DRC, Nigeria, Morocco, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Ouma said.

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