The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) recommended, this Wednesday, that countries on the continent use a PCR detection kit (UM6P-MAScIR MPOX qPCR 1.0), manufactured by the Moroccan company Moldiag in Morocco, to detect Mpox.
“This kit has been officially added to the list of tests recommended by the Center, after obtaining assessment and approval from the health authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is considered the epicenter of the monkeypox epidemic”indicates Africa CDC in a press release.
The same source adds that the Center recommends that African countries, as part of a joint plan with the World Health Organization (WHO), adopt the PCR test kit to detect mpox.
In this regard, this test was developed by a team from the Center specializing in diagnostic and medical equipment, under the Moroccan Foundation for Advanced Sciences, Innovation and Research (MAScIR).
This Moroccan innovation was registered with the Directorate of Medicines and Pharmacy at the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, and its “availability for export to the African continent and the Moroccan market”, continues the same source.
“This advance is part of the African Union’s efforts to strengthen health self-sufficiency in Africa, with the aim of improving the continent’s capacity to prepare for and respond to health threats”indicates the Africa CDC press release, affirming that “this constitutes a source of inspiration for African manufacturers”.
In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced last Monday that it would hold an upcoming meeting of its emergency committee to determine whether monkeypox remains a global health emergency.
“The latest figures for suspected Mpox cases in Africa stand at around 47,000, with a death toll of nearly 10,000,” according to Africa CDC.
At the beginning of last September, Morocco announced its first confirmed case of monkeypox.
It should be noted that in October, the company SIGA Technology (SIGA.O) announced, in a press release, that it had signed an agreement with the Kingdom of Morocco to provide the Ministry of Health and Social Protection with the “Tpoxx” treatment. », intended to fight against Mpox, in response to Morocco’s request to strengthen its prevention measures in the face of any potential epidemic.
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