UN Authorizes First Mpox Vaccine For Children To Control The Outbreak In Congo

World Health Organization (WHO) has approved first mpox vaccine meant for children, a decision that's expected to fasten pace of immunization among one of worst hit populations as a result of this ongoing outbreak induced by this viral infectious disease in Congo, and in Africa. 

experts hope will help make immunizations more widely available to one of hardest-hit populations during ongoing outbreaks of disease in Congo and elsewhere in Africa.

In a statement late Tuesday, U.N. health agency said it h approved mpox vaccine me by Japanese company KM Biologics for use in children over 1 year of age as a single dose.

Earlier this month, charity Save Children said cases among children younger than 18 h increased by more than 130 per cent in Congo, noting re were now more than 25,000 suspect cases.

charity said children were almost four times more likely than ults to die from newest form of mpox first detected in eastern Congo earlier this year. Mpox, related to smallpox, mostly causes symptoms including fever, rash, lesions and fatigue.

“Children are especially vulnerable to mpox,” Save Children’s Dr. Katia Veira de Moraaes Lecasse said in a statement. “y explore by touch and taste, don’t always understand health guidance and have weaker immune systems than ults.”

Congo's battle with Mpox

Scientists have previously noted that mpox appears to be disproportionately affecting children in Congo and Burundi, which account for more than 90 per cent of all mpox cases in Africa’s current outbreak.

WHO h previously approved mpox vaccine me by Bavarian Nordic for people 18 and over but said shot could be used in younger populations if doctors thought benefits might outweigh potential risks, given lack of data in children and or groups including pregnant women.

Last week, WHO said cases of mpox in Congolese region where new, more infectious form was first identified appeared to be “plateauing,” even as cases were rising elsewhere, including Burundi and Uganda.

So far, about 50,000 people in Congo have been immunized against mpox with vaccine me by Bavarian Nordic.

WHO said Japan h announced it would donate about 3 million doses of shot me by KM Biologics to Congo. It was not clear wher any of doses have arrived.

On Friday, WHO is convening its expert committee to determine wher outbreaks in Congo and elsewhere in Africa is still a global emergency, a declaration U.N. agency first me in August.

To date, Africa has reported more than 46,000 suspected mpox cases in current outbreak, including 1,081 deaths.

(With AP Inputs)