The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved the first clinical trial for mpox, the results of which can be known immediately, saying it could prove vital in helping stop rising global cases of the deadly virus. It is possible

The new PCR test enables the detection of Mpox DNA taken from swabs of skin lesions.

Currently, samples have to be sent to a laboratory for testing and the patient and doctors have to wait for several days for the results.

Limited testing capacity and delays in confirming cases remain a challenge in Africa – increasing the spread of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox.

WHO said barely 40% of the more than 30,000 suspected cases recorded in Africa this year were confirmed through testing.

WHO assistant director-general Yukiko Nakatani called the new clinical trial “an important milestone.”

“Increasing access to quality-assured medical products is central to our efforts to help countries stop the spread of the virus and protect their people, especially in deprived areas,” he said.

The breakthrough comes as the Democratic Republic of Congo, where most cases have been reported, prepares to launch the mpox vaccination program on Saturday.

Mepox, a highly contagious disease, has killed at least 635 people in that country this year.

• What is mpox and how is it spread?
• Nurses working in fear: BBC visits MPOX epicenter

In August, the virus outbreak was declared a global public health emergency by WHO for the second time in two years, following rising cases in DR Congo and its spread to neighboring Burundi, Uganda and Rwanda.

Some Western countries have donated doses of mpox vaccines to combat the disease outbreak in Africa, but reports say more are urgently needed.

Rwanda, which was the first country in Africa to administer Mpox vaccines last month, is set to receive 5,000 more doses on Friday, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

In Nigeria, a vaccination campaign against the virus will begin next Tuesday, the Africa CDC said.

It said frontline health workers and close contacts of infected patients would be prioritized in DR Congo, which has 200,000 vaccines donated by the European Commission.

Additional reporting by BBC Africa health reporter Makuochie Okafor

• Children are suffering the brunt of MPOX outbreak
• ‘Ampox made my throat so painful I couldn’t sleep’
• How worried should we be about mpox?

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