Rapid regional mobile laboratory response and genomic monkeypox virus (MPXV) surveillance in seven East African Community partner states, August 2024: preparedness activities for the ongoing outbreak.

The East African Community (EAC) is experiencing an unprecedented, emerging mpox outbreak since July 2024 in five of eight partner states. We highlight rapid regional response measures, initiated August 2024 coordinated by EAC: field deployment of six mobile laboratories in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, South Sudan to high-risk areas, donation of one mobile laboratory to Democratic Republic of the Congo and genomic monkeypox virus (MPXV) surveillance support. These interventions aim to limit local mpox spread and support international containment.

The East African Community mobile laboratory network prepares for monkeypox outbreaks.

In response to the largest recorded monkeypox virus outbreak outside of endemic Central and Western Africa, the East African Community (EAC), in cooperation with the Bernhard-Nocht- Institute for Tropical Medicine, coordinated an emergency monkeypox diagnostic training for the East African Region. As of June 2022, the Democratic Republic of Congo reported a steady increase of suspected monkeypox cases, increasing the risk of spill-over into the remaining six EAC Partner States. Within the existing EAC Mobile Laboratories project, laboratory experts of the National Public Health Laboratories of the remaining six EAC Partner States (Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and South Sudan) participated in the workshop and were trained in the reception of suspect samples, DNA extraction and diagnosis using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).