The executive leadership team of MMH & Partners Africa can officially confirm that the local healthcare consultancy has developed a three-tiered response plan to eradicate and prevent the continued spread of the mpox virus in South Africa.
The response plan emphasizes the urgent need for a consolidated effort between healthcare leaders, private sector stakeholders, and public entities to address this public health crisis effectively. The plan highlights three key pillars: Diagnostics (Detection), Therapeutics (Treatment), and Vaccines (Prevention). Each strategic pillar aims to emphasise the action steps that will be required to effectively prevent the needless loss of life as a result of the mpox outbreak across different regions in Africa.
Pillar 1: Upscale Local Laboratory Capacity to Improve Detection through Diagnostics
As part of the pandemic prevention approach to this looming healthcare crisis, we must upscale local laboratory capacity and appropriately equip them with the capabilities to test mpox, alongside anything else that comes their way, including Disease X.
“Monitoring and tracking how many people have tested positive will prepare us with a data-driven approach to combat the continued spread effectively. Accurate laboratory testing and diagnostics will contribute significantly towards monitoring the spread and severity of mpox to ensure accurate reporting and contain infection rates. Presently, only 10% of the mpox cases are being confirmed by laboratories, further highlighting the urgent need to strengthen diagnostic capacity on the continent,” shares Michael Mynhardt, CEO and Co-Founder at MMH & Partners Africa.
According to Dr. Yenew Kabede, enhanced mpox surveillance could also be achieved by positioning a GeneXpert machine closer to the point of case detection, leading to faster public health responses and clinical management of severe cases. While the machine may prove advantageous, a key element to successfully managing the spread of mpox will be multi-sectoral engagement, primarily through leveraging AI and sharing real-time data in order to combat the rate of infection collectively across all regions in Africa.
Mynhardt adds that: “Suppple Plc recently launched an AI healthbot to provide digital healthcare assistance to the 54 member states of the African Union (AU). Their technological innovation could serve as a strategic tool for local healthcare and regulatory bodies to access data to track and trace regional outbreaks or hotspots where mpox infections may be spreading.”
Pillar 2: Focusing on Therapeutics for Treatment
Currently, there is no treatment approved specifically for mpox virus infections. However, the United States (US) government has stockpiled antivirals, developed for use in patients with smallpox, which may be beneficial against the virus. The medical countermeasures currently available from the US Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) include tecovirimat, brincidofovir, and vaccinia immune globulin, as options for the treatment of mpox.
According to Dr. Olivier Tshiani Mbaya, Tecovirimat is one of the most advanced drugs available to treat mpox. The FDA originally approved it to treat smallpox, however, its use has recently been expanded for the treatment of mpox (and cowpox). It is an antiviral drug that has an oral and intravenous dosage option, depending on the weight of the patient.
Pillar 3: Vaccines to Bolster Long-Term Prevention Strategies
Mynhardt further emphasises that vaccines will offer the most effective and sustainable measure to prevent the continued spread of infections in the future: “Globally, the leading territories for mRNA vaccine research and development include America, Canada, South Korea, and India. Ideally, the vaccine developed for our continent should be a self-amplifying, heat stable vaccine that is fit for Africa’s supply chain. It should also be noted that clinical trials of the mpox vaccine must be conducted on the continent to ensure its efficacy across the different demographics present in the region.”
Sadly, there is no single institution that currently has the ability to manufacture an mpox mRNA vaccine locally on the continent. There are a limited number of candidates that could be considered for a fill-and-finish tech transfer. That being said, there are four leading industry stakeholders that could play a key role in the development and manufacturing of these vaccines over the next 10-24 months. These include Gennova Biopharmaceuticals, BioNTech, Bavarian Nordic and KM Biologics.
Concluding Remarks
The Medical Research Council of South Africa should play a critical role in establishing these collaborative partnerships, as an engine dedicated to improving the health of people in South Africa through research, innovation, development, and technology transfer. It is also worth noting that multiple manufacturers and local suppliers should be engaged to produce the mpox vaccine in order to diversify the risk of supply.