The Government of Mozambique, meeting in a session of the Council of Ministers, has confirmed that the country will receive vaccines in September to help contain a possible spread of Mpox cases. This comes at a time when Mozambique has reported a total of 31 confirmed cases and 185 suspected cases over the past three weeks.
“Starting next month, the Ministry of Health will begin receiving a specific type of vaccine to be used for at-risk groups and in preventive measures, as well as to ensure stock reserves,” explained government spokesperson Inocêncio Impissa. He added that health authorities are also assessing another type of suitable medication for potential acquisition in the event of an emergency, and that the ongoing containment measures are proving effective. Impissa also urged isolation of confirmed cases.
Recently, the National Director of Public Health, Quinhas Fernandes, stated that the health sector is focusing on community screening as the best method to curb the spread, emphasizing that border surveillance has been strengthened. “Mozambique is prepared to deal with Mpox, with the capacity to conduct 4,000 tests locally, of which more than 150 have already been used.”
Meanwhile, the Coordinator of the Public Health Emergency Operations Center (COESP), Filipe Murimirgua, stressed that Mpox is an infectious disease “and there is always a risk of it spreading.” For this reason, all provinces remain on alert. He also noted improvements in testing procedures compared to the 2022 outbreak. “The country is now better organized, particularly in terms of early case detection,” he concluded.
Mpox is a zoonotic viral disease, first identified in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the current outbreak in Southern Africa, 77,458 cases have been reported across 22 countries since January 1, with 501 deaths. In Mozambique, the first case was reported in October 2022, in a patient from Maputo. According to official data, health authorities have so far recorded 28 cases of Mpox in Niassa Province, two in Manica, and one in Maputo—covering the northern, central, and southern regions of the country.
Source: Diário Económico
