African leaders fighting rising mpox cases

Africa’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday said officials were rolling out programs to develop a treatment for individuals suffering from mpox. On Wednesday, Africa CDC reported that nine countries across the continent had received a combined 899,000 mpox vaccine doses. The programs come amid an increase in mpox cases across Africa.

What is mpox? Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is an infectious disease carried by a double-stranded DNA virus, according to the World Health Organization. Symptoms include skin rash and mucosal lesions which can last for up to a month, Infected individuals can also suffer from fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.

Why are they working on a treatment if they’re getting vaccines? While the vaccines can help prevent the spread of mpox, there is currently no treatment available for people who are already infected, Africa CDC said.

Does Africa CDC have any ideas in mind for a treatment yet? The organization said it would begin tests on the drug brincidofovir, developed by the life sciences company Emergent BioSolutions. The drug is currently used to combat smallpox in the United States, but its effectiveness against mpox has not been fully investigated.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about how the United Nations declared mpox a global health emergency earlier this year.