Mpox outbreak: Pakistan’s Peshawar emerging as ‘epicentre’; UNICEF steps up with emergency vaccine tender

With rising concerns about the new strain of the mpox virus, Peshawar in Pakistan is becoming the “epicentre” of the outbreak, as the fifth case was reported on Sunday, according to Geo News.

The most recent patient, a 47-year-old man, tested positive on August 29 after being isolated by Border Health Services staff. He had recently returned from the Gulf region.

“This is the fifth mpox case reported this year [in the country] and the fourth since WHO declared mpox a global health emergency,” said Federal Director General of Health Shabana Saleem was quoted as saying on Sunday. “The virus’s re-emergence in Peshawar raises serious concerns about its transmission and demands immediate action,” she added.

“Peshawar appears to be turning into an epicentre for mpox cases. This trend is alarming, and we are doubling our efforts to prevent further spread,” she said.

Saleem also stressed the importance of vigilance, pointing out that all recent cases involved individuals who had travelled to the Gulf region.

The fourth case was identified in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, where authorities had previously confirmed three other virus infections.

What is MPox?

Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, has been a public health issue in parts of Africa for over 50 years but resurfaced as a global concern in 2022. On August 14, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a new health emergency due to the ‘clade 1b’ strain of the virus, which has led to over 18,000 suspected cases and 615 deaths in Congo this year, along with additional cases reported in other regions including Africa, Sweden, and Thailand.

The WHO has declared the ongoing mpox outbreaks in Africa a global emergency, aiming to prompt a strong global response to the disease, which has been spreading largely unnoticed for years in parts of the continent, including Nigeria. In May, scientists identified a new variant of the virus in Congo that may be spreading more easily.

Experts have noted that without a deeper understanding of how mpox is transmitted in Africa, it will be challenging to determine the most effective use of vaccines.

Here are the latest developments

– The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has launched an emergency tender to procure mpox vaccines for crisis-affected countries, working alongside the Gavi vaccine alliance, Africa CDC, and the World Health Organization, according to a joint statement released on Saturday.

– Agreements could be made for up to 12 million doses by 2025 depending on manufacturers’ production capacities. UNICEF plans to establish conditional supply agreements with vaccine manufacturers under the tender.

– Nigeria is set to begin administering mpox vaccines starting October 8, following the completion of regulatory approvals, a spokesperson for the country’s National Primary Health Care Development Agency told a local newspaper on Saturday.

– On Tuesday, Nigeria received its initial shipment of 10,000 doses of the mpox vaccine from the U.S. Agency for International Development. The country has confirmed 40 cases of mpox with no reported deaths so far.

– The Democratic Republic of Congo has reported over 18,000 suspected mpox cases with 629 deaths this year, while Burundi has confirmed more than 150 cases, according to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

– Outside of the Democratic Republic of Congo and nearby countries, Sweden and Thailand have confirmed cases of the clade 1b type of the mpox virus.