Danish biotech firm Bavarian Nordic has announced the donation of 40,000 doses of its mpox vaccine to Africa CDC following a public health emergency. The European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority will also provide an additional 175,420 doses to combat the outbreak originating in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Africa's top public health authority, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), has declared a 'public health emergency of continental security' due to an mpox outbreak spreading from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighboring countries.

The public health body said more than 15,000 mpox cases and 461 deaths were reported on the continent this year so far, representing a 160 per cent increase from the same period last year