SA trying to source Mpox vaccines – The Witness | Your compass in the community

South Africa is trying to source Mpox vaccines from the United Nations World Health Organisation (WHO) member countries, the Department of Health said.

Updating the media on the situation on Wednesday, Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla told a media briefing in Pretoria there was no registered treatment for the infectious disease in South Africa and that the WHO member countries in question have stockpiles that exceed their needs.

He also said the global vaccine alliance, GAVI, had been approached.

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These vaccines will be stored and distributed from our provincial depots, said Phaahla.

Additional intervention is being considered as National Advisory Group for Immunisation (NAGI), a technical working group for Mpox vaccines, has been appointed and is considering Mpox vaccine for both pre and post-exposure administration for high-risk groups, including but not limited to sex workers, men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM), healthcare workers and laboratory workers.

This week, South Africa recorded its first Mpox death at Tembisa Hospital in Gauteng. Three of South Africas five reported cases have been in Durban, and the other two are in Gauteng.

The disease is caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV), an orthopoxvirus (a group of large, complex, double-stranded DNA viruses that replicate in the cytoplasm of the host cell) that transmits from person to person through close contact, and from domesticated and wild animals infected by pathogens in East, Central, and West Africa.

Phaahla said the multi-country Mpox outbreak was characterised by sustained human-to-human transmission via direct skin-to-skin and sexual contact. People living with HIV are disproportionately affected.

He said all cases/patients in South Africa were men aged between 30 and 39 years without travel history to the countries currently experiencing an outbreak, which suggests that there is local transmission within the country.

All five cases were classified as severe cases as per the WHO definition, requiring hospitalisation.

The WHO recommends the use of Tecovirimat (known as TPOXX) for treatment of severe cases, such as in individuals with a CD4 (type of white blood cells) count of less than 350. However, the department has obtained Tecovirimat via Section 21 SAPHRA approval on a compassionate use basis for the five known patients with severe disease. Three of the five cases had access to Tecovirimat treatment as advocated by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).

With regards to a vaccine, Phaahla said options were being considered as to which population groups should be targeted.

Phaahla added that the stigma of MSM has hindered contact tracing and honesty from those who may be infected by Mpox as patients were not forthcoming with traceable contacts in order to establish where they got the Mpox so their contacts can be tested too.

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He said only one of the patients indicated they had had sexual contact with multiple partners, including males and females.

Co-morbidities have also been identified among MSM cases in other countries.

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SA trying to source Mpox vaccines - The Witness | Your compass in the community