The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said in a statement on Thursday that the geographic spread of monkeypox in parts of Africa where no cases has yet been detected is a ‘worrying sign’.
Three new African countries (Ghana, Morocco and South Africa) have notified cases of infection with this disease, according to the UN body, which says it is working with national health authorities in the Region to strengthen surveillance and diagnosis in laboratory to detect cases and avoid silent spread of the virus.
WHO notes that as of June 28, 1821 cases of monkeypox have been reported from 13 countries on the continent, of which 109 have been laboratory confirmed in nine countries. The number of confirmed cases in Africa represents 2% of the more than 4,500 confirmed cases worldwide.
She also points out that while all African countries have the gene amplification (PCR) machines needed to detect monkeypox thanks to the laboratory capacity building that has taken place as part of the response efforts to the Covid-19 pandemic, many of these countries lack reagents and, in some cases, training in the areas of sample collection, handling and analysis.
In this context, the UN body is striving, according to its terms, to obtain 60,000 tests for Africa, including around 2,000 tests and reagents to be sent to high-risk countries and 1,000 tests and reagents to be sent to the countries less at risk of monkeypox.
“It is essential that we support national efforts to boost surveillance and laboratory diagnosis, which are the cornerstones of the fight against the disease,” said Matshidiso Moeti.
WHO warns of the risk of vaccine inequity as experienced in the case of Covid-19. “What happened in the early days of the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines, when Africa sat on the sidelines while other countries shared the limited number of vaccines available, must not happen again. “, challenged the regional director.
According to Moeti, “The current global attention given to monkeypox should serve as a catalyst to defeat this disease in Africa once and for all. For this, we know that vaccines are an essential tool.”
The organization does not recommend mass vaccination against monkeypox, due to the limited number of vaccines and antivirals, but rather targeted vaccination for people who have been exposed or are at high risk (health workers , laboratory staff and outbreak response teams).
By OMA Newsletter N° 764 of 01/07/2022
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
