Due to the worsening situation, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has declared the highest possible level of alert. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, monkeypox has infected more than 15,500 people since the beginning of the year, and 548 have died. The virus is already present in all provinces of the country. The first cases have also been reported in Pakistan, and a person infected with mpox is also in one of the Stockholm hospitals.
Monkeypox: Vaccine Producer's Shares Skyrocket
Meanwhile, the latest announcements about the spread of monkeypox have already been noticed by the market. Shares of the Danish company Bavarian Nordic, which produces the WHO-recommended vaccinations for monkeypox virus. This is an increase of more than 20 percent since Tuesday.
The Danish company announced that it has ready 300 thousand doses of the monkeypox vaccine Jynneos and “sufficient production capacity to meet demand,” it said “Financial Times”. Bavarian Nordic has already delivered 40,000 doses to the European Office for Emergency Preparedness and Response. It has also received another order for an additional 175,000 doses. “We have the capacity, but we need customers to start placing orders quite quickly. We need orders by the end of this month if we want to reach 2 million doses by the end of this year,” said Paul Chaplin, CEO of Bavarian Nordic. He added that his company is in talks with “other governments” about placing further orders, which will be distributed to Africa. “FT” reminds that the vaccine recommended by the WHO is also owned by the Japanese company KM Biologics, and another producer is the American company Emergent BioSolutions.
First cases of new strain of monkeypox outside Africa
Cases of monkeypox virus infection have been reported in 13 African countries, as previously mentioned, most in the Democratic Republic of Congo. On Thursday, 3 cases were reported in Pakistan. In turn, The Swedish Public Health Agency reportedthat in one of the hospitals in Stockholm is a person who was infected with a more dangerous mutation of the virus while in Africa. “This case does not in itself require any additional infection control measures, but we take it very seriously. We are closely monitoring the situation and constantly assessing whether new measures are needed,” Sweden's chief epidemiologist Magnus Gisslen said. Even before vacation authorities have commissioned the Swedish Public Health Agency to provide vaccines and drugs against the monkeypox virus.
Let us recall that the virus is transmitted through droplets and through contact with damaged skin or body fluids. A person can become infected from another person, animal or infected object. Complications include pneumonia, encephalitis, myocarditis, and urethra. In serious cases, the disease can lead to death.