(Geneva) – The World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday expressed regret in its latest situation report that the number of smallpox tests available remains low in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the country most affected by the epidemic.
“Testing coverage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo remains low, due to limited testing capacity,” the UN health agency said in its latest update.
“Due to limited access to laboratory testing in remote areas, only about 40% of suspected cases were tested in 2024 (compared to 9% in 2023), of which about 55% were positive,” the WHO adds.
The three countries reporting the highest number of suspected cases since the beginning of the year through 8 September are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, followed by Burundi (1,489 suspected cases, no deaths) and Nigeria (935 suspected cases, no deaths).
On August 14, the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern regarding smallpox.
Regarding global vaccine availability, the World Health Organization said that more than 3.6 million doses have been pledged, including more than 620,000 doses of the MVA-BN vaccine by European countries, the United States and manufacturer Bavarian Nordic.
Japan has promised 3 million doses of the LC16 vaccine. So far, 265,000 doses of the MVA-BN vaccine have been delivered to Kinshasa and 10,000 doses to Nigeria.
