**Fatshimetrie: Race Against Time to Contain Africa’s Mpox Outbreak**
A new outbreak of Mpox is currently raging in East Africa, putting the health of thousands of people at risk. Among them, Richard Songa, a patient infected with the virus during the recent outbreak in Kamituga, testifies to the critical importance of medical care received at the local health center to his survival.
Doctors at the Kamituga health center have been overwhelmed by the number of Mpox cases, sometimes working at full capacity to treat patients.
The Africa CDC has reported more than 59,000 Mpox cases and 1,164 deaths in 20 countries so far this year, the majority in the East African nations of Burundi, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
As African countries struggle to obtain enough COVID-19 tests, authorities have vowed to reduce the continent’s reliance on imported medical supplies.
A Moroccan company has taken the lead in producing Mpox tests on the continent, becoming the first to do so in Africa. Moldiag, a Moroccan startup, began developing the tests after the WHO declared a global emergency over the virus in August.
While the WHO has approved an initial vaccine and announced a plan to provide vaccines, tests, and treatments to the most vulnerable populations in the world’s poorest countries, doctors in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s South Kivu province continue to rely on experience and observation to diagnose patients in the absence of laboratory tests.
Moldiag, led by its founder and Chief Scientific Officer Abdeladim Moumem, says manufacturing Mpox tests in Africa can help address shortages in an affordable way.
Winning approval to distribute its Mpox tests from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Moldiag has yet to submit the necessary documents for fast-track approval from the WHO.
Mpox tests produced at African scale facilitate a faster response to the pandemic, as local laboratories can play a crucial role in detecting and tracing cases to contain the spread of the virus.
This initiative aims to strengthen the capacities of African countries to respond to outbreaks and reduce their reliance on imports of essential medical supplies.
In conclusion, the local production of Mpox tests in Africa represents a significant step forward in the fight against this epidemic, offering an affordable and effective solution to help the most vulnerable populations fight the virus.