Issue 6: 23 January 2025 | Mpox: Transparency and Accountability for the Global Response

Welcome to the sixth issue of our report, “Mpox: Transparency and Accountability for the Global Response.”

In this edition, we provide a comprehensive update on the latest developments and insights across all topic areas, featuring our most recent analyses and findings since the last issue. This report will be updated and shared every other week with our community.

Latest updates at a glance:

  • The first patients have been enrolled in the MOSA trial in the DRC. This trial will evaluate different antivirals, starting with evaluating the safety and efficacy of brincidofovir (Emergent BioSolutions).
  • Sierra Leone has reported its first 2 mpox cases in the country, and becomes the 21st country in Africa to report a case of mpox.
  • The U.S. CDC has donated 300 mpox tests to Sierra Leone to help ensure timely diagnosis and intervention in response to 2 newly reported cases of mpox in the country.
  • The Africa CDC has announced several key priorities for the mpox response in the next 3 months including:
    • Intensification of response in hotspots by deploying 80 epidemiologists and 2,400 community health workers in the DRC, Burundi, and Uganda while using an integrated approach to improve active case search and contact monitoring
    • Support for comprehensive integrated case management for mpox, measles and other diseases
    • Support for decentralized testing
    • Empowerment of youth using AI-based strategies to fight misinformation
    • Support for accelerated vaccination including children under 18
  • The Central African Republic mpox vaccination campaign began on January 18th. This is the 4th country that has begun vaccinating for mpox (DRC, Nigeria, Rwanda).
  • After implementing a new vaccination strategy that involves sweeping hotspots instead of focusing on solely vaccinating contacts, by the end of December the DRC has been able to administer a total of roughly 175,000 vaccine doses. This is an improvement from around 50,000 administered doses at the beginning of December.
  • The UK announced the 6th case of clade Ib mpox in the country on January 20th. The case has no connection to the previously reported cases in the country.
  • Azerbaijan reported the first mpox case on January 18th in an individual who had recently traveled abroad, but no details on clade have been reported.

As always, we aim to serve as an external, independent source for tracking and catalyzing effective actions to meet and increase commitments, and to hold the key stakeholders to account for achieving emergency preparedness and response goals.

Access the full report.