- In Kenya, the Ministry of Health has registered one case of pox with the government racing to ensure that the disease is contained.
- However, experts believe more sick people have not been tested.
Image: File
World Health Organisation has encouraged countries affected by Mpox to fight the virus together.
In a Twitter post on Friday, Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said countries should enhance surveillance.
“Identification of the first Mpox clade 1b infection in Sweden underscores the need for affected countries to tackle the virus together,” he said.
Tedros asked countries to share data and fight the disease with all it takes.
“All countries should enhance surveillance, share data, and work to better understand the transmission,” he said.
“Share tools like vaccines and apply lessons learned from prior public health emergencies of international concern in addressing the current outbreak.”
In Kenya, the Ministry of Health has registered one case of Mpox with the government racing to ensure that the disease is contained.
However, experts believe more sick people have not been tested.
The government has also increased surveillance in the borders to ensure that it does not spread.
Most people with Mpox get a rash and recover without treatment after a few weeks. In rare cases, people can become extremely sick and die.
Kenya will benefit from a Sh2 billion fund that donors are putting together to fight the spread of Mpox.
The World Health Organization said it anticipates an immediate funding requirement of at least $15 million (about Sh1.9 billion) to support surveillance, preparedness and response activities.
The highly contagious disease - formerly known as monkeypox - has killed at least 450 people during an initial outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
WHO has declared the Mpox outbreak in parts of Africa a public health emergency of international concern.
It has now spread across parts of central and east Africa, and scientists are concerned about how fast a new variant of the disease is spreading and its high fatality rate.
Tedros said the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying.
Several outbreaks of different clades of Mpox have occurred in different countries, with different modes of transmission and different levels of risk.
WHO said the two vaccines currently in use for mpox are recommended by WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation and are also approved by WHO-listed national regulatory authorities, as well as by individual countries including Nigeria and the DRC.
Last week, the Director-General triggered the process for Emergency Use Listing for mpox vaccines, which will accelerate vaccine access for lower-income countries which have not yet issued their national regulatory approval.
Emergency Use Listing also enables partners including Gavi and UNICEF to procure vaccines for distribution.