Kinshasa, Nov 14 (IANS): The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the epicentre of the ongoing mpox epidemic, will kick off a new round of vaccination, Health Minister Roger Kamba said.

The DRC, which has recorded more than 1,100 deaths from mpox since the beginning of 2024, has vaccinated about 51,000 people, reports Xinhua news agency.

"These people must now have the second dose," said the minister at a press briefing in Kinshasa, without specifying the date for the next vaccination round.

Congo has some 200,000 doses of vaccine on hand and expects to receive an additional 100,000 doses this Thursday, said Kamba. The country aims to vaccinate a total of 2.5 million people using 3.5 million doses.

Since the beginning of this year, 42,912 suspected cases have been reported, including 9,456 confirmed cases and 1,132 deaths. The Central African country is facing a higher mortality rate due to delayed diagnosis and limited access to treatment in several health zones, according to the WHO.

Mpox, also known as monkeypox, is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. It spreads through close contact with symptoms such as fever, swollen lymph nodes, sore throat, muscle aches, skin rash and back pain.