Sat Nov 02 09:46:34 UTC 2024: ## Over 50,000 Vaccinated Against Mpox in DRC and Rwanda as Outbreak Spreads
**Geneva, November 2, 2024** – The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that over 50,000 people have been vaccinated against mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. This comes amidst a growing mpox outbreak in Africa, with over 1,100 deaths recorded since January.
The African Union’s health watchdog has warned that the outbreak is still not under control, urging for increased resources to prevent a pandemic worse than COVID-19. The DRC, the epicentre of the outbreak, launched a vaccination drive last month, with the vaccines being donated by the United States and the European Commission.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that nearly 900,000 vaccine doses have been allocated to nine countries this week through a mechanism set up by the WHO and its partners. This is the first allocation of nearly six million doses expected to be available by the end of 2024.
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is a viral disease transmitted to humans by infected animals. Human-to-human transmission occurs through close physical contact. The disease causes symptoms such as fever, body aches, swollen lymph nodes, and a rash that forms into blisters.
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