MOSCOW, August 22. /TASS/. Russia’s Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) will provide African countries with tests for diagnosing mpox (formerly known as monkeypox), the agency’s press service told reporters.

"The Congolese side is interested in further receiving Russian tests and strengthening cooperation with Rospotrebnadzor in responding to epidemic threats. To help foreign partners, Rospotrebnadzor will also provide other African countries with Russian tests for diagnosing mpox," the press service said.

According to it, on August 19-23, the agency's specialists held courses on the prevention and diagnosis of infectious diseases in the Congo, with special attention paid to mpox. Russian tests to detect the disease were verified and proved their effectiveness.

About virus

Mpox is a rare viral disease which is endemic to remote regions near tropical forests of Central and Western Africa. The first case of the animal-to-human transmission of this disease was recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this virus is usually transmitted to humans by wild animals, such as rodents and primates, while its secondary spread among humans is limited. Usually the lethality coefficient during mpox outbreaks ranges from 1% to 10% with the majority of fatalities in the younger age groups.

On August 14, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern.