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Spain Donates 500,000 Mpox Vaccine Doses to Central Africa Amid Surge in Cases

In a move to combat the growing mpox outbreak in central Africa, Spain has announced that it will donate 500,000 vaccine doses to countries in the region. This donation represents 20 percent of Spain’s total mpox vaccine reserves, with the health ministry stating that it will not specify which nations will receive the vaccines or when they will arrive.

The Spanish government has also urged its European Union peers to follow suit, calling for them to donate 20 percent of their mpox vaccine stockpile. The statement added that it “makes no sense to stockpile vaccines where there is no problem.” France and Germany have already announced that they will each donate 100,000 mpox vaccine doses to countries affected by the emergency.

Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is an infectious disease caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals and can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact. The disease causes fever, muscle pains, and skin lesions, and in an increasing number of cases, death.

The resurgence of mpox and the detection of a new strain, dubbed Clade 1b, in the Democratic Republic of Congo prompted the World Health Organisation to declare its highest international alert level on August 14. Outbreaks have been reported in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda since July.

Interestingly, no mpox cases have been reported in Spain, while Sweden’s Public Health Agency announced earlier this month that it had registered a case of the Clade 1b variant of mpox. The patient had been infected during a visit to an affected African country.

The World Health Organisation’s declaration of the highest international alert level highlights the urgent need for global cooperation to combat the mpox outbreak. Spain’s donation of vaccine doses is a significant step in this direction, and it is hoped that other countries will follow suit to help contain the spread of the disease.