IFRC says shortage of testing, vaccines hampers mpox response in Africa

By Ludwig Burger and Miranda Murray

(Reuters) -Far more diagnostic kits, treatments and vaccines need to be shipped to Africa to respond adequately to the outbreak of a new strain of the mpox virus there, an official of the Red Cross and Red Crescent humanitarian network said on Friday.

"There is a critical shortage of testing, treatment and vaccines across the continent," Bronwyn Nichol of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said in a media call on Friday.

"These shortages are severely hampering the ability to contain the outbreak."

Health officials on Thursday confirmed an infection with the new mpox strain in Sweden, the first sign of its spread outside Africa after the World Health Organization declared the disease a global public health emergency.

IFRC's Nichol expressed concern that cases outside of Africa could prompt developed countries to go back on existing commitments to support the response of international groups in Africa.

"I’m sure this will make some governments think a bit more as well... hopefully that doesn’t change some of the planned donations," she said.

Speaking on the same media call on Friday, WHO official Margaret Harris said she expects more cases outside Africa to emerge soon, also as a result of heightened monitoring.

The case in Sweden "shows the system is working and that countries have stepped up their vigilance, what to look for. We expect that we will see cases elsewhere," said Harris.

The head of global vaccine group Gavi told Reuters on Friday it has up to $500 million to spend on getting shots to countries affected by the escalating mpox outbreak in Africa.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt and Miranda Murray in Berlin, Editing by Rachel More and Jan Harvey)