GENEVA (AP) 鈥� The head of the World Health Organization believes the ongoing outbreaks in Africa might be stopped in the next six months, and said Friday that the agency's first should arrive in Congo within days.
To date, Africa has received just a of the vaccines needed to slow the spread of the virus, especially 鈥� more than 18,000 suspected cases and 629 deaths.
鈥淲ith the governments鈥� leadership and close cooperation between partners, we believe we can stop these outbreaks in the next six months,鈥� WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing.
He said that while mpox infections have been rising quickly in the last few weeks, there have been relatively few deaths. Tedros also noted there were 258 cases of the newest version of mpox, with patients identified in Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Sweden and Thailand.
Earlier this month, WHO declared the ongoing mpox outbreaks in Africa a hoping to spur a robust global response to the disease on a continent where cases were for years, including in Nigeria. In May, scientists detected a of the disease in Congo that they think could be spreading more easily.
Mpox, also known as monkeypox, is related to smallpox but typically causes milder symptoms, including fever, headache and body aches. In severe cases, people can develop painful sores and blisters on the face, chest, hands and genitals. Mpox is typically spread via close skin-to-skin contact.
WHO estimated about 230,000 vaccines could be sent 鈥渋mminently鈥� to Congo and elsewhere. The agency said it was also working on education campaigns to raise awareness of how people could avoid spreading mpox in countries with outbreaks.
Maria Van Kerkhove, who directs WHO's epidemic and pandemic diseases department, said the agency was working to expedite vaccine access for affected countries 鈥� given the limited supply available.
Scientists have previously pointed out that without a better understanding of how mpox is spreading in Africa, it may be difficult to know how best to use the shots.
Earlier this week, the head of Africa's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the continent was hoping to receive about 380,000 doses of mpox vaccines promised by donors, including the U.S. and the European Union. That鈥檚 less than 15% of the doses authorities have said are needed to end the mpox outbreaks in Congo.
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