The World Health Organization (WHO) is in the process of procuring thousands of monkeypox tests for Africa but is not recommending mass vaccination at this stage, its Africa Director Matshidiso Moeti has said.

She added that the continent should be prepared for vaccination should the need arise.
The decision to start preparations comes as new cases have been reported.

This year, the continent has documented 1,597 suspected cases of monkeypox, with 66 deaths, the acting director of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, said on Thursday.

Monkeypox, a mild viral infection, is endemic in 11 African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Nigeria.

There is no known vaccine currently, but the smallpox vaccine has been shown to offer up to 85 percent protection against monkeypox.

Source: Aljazeera