Mpox epicentre DR Congo to start vaccination campaign

The Democratic Republic of Congo, the epicentre of an mpox outbreak launched a vaccination campaign against the virus on October 5.

The vaccination starts at "the areas most affected" due to the current limited stocks of vaccines, the Health Minister said. The test, called the Alinity m MPXV assay and manufactured by Abbott Molecular Inc., (incorporated)enables the detection of the mpox virus from swabs taken from human lesions.

The UN health agency had approved the use of the first diagnostic test for mpox, a key tool in countries battling outbreaks. More than 800 people have died across Africa from mpox, where the disease has been officially detected in 16 countries, according to the African Union's disease control centre.