For the first time in Africa, a Moroccan company, Moldiag is now filling orders for mpox tests on the continent.
The Moroccan startup began developing mpox tests after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus a global emergency in August.
After facing criticism for moving too slowly on providing vaccines, the WHO in September approved an initial vaccine and announced a plan to provide vaccines, tests and treatments to the most vulnerable people in the world’s poorest countries.
After African countries struggled to get enough COVID-19 tests, officials vowed to make the continent less dependent on imports for medical supplies.
But near the epicentre in eastern Congo’s South Kivu province, doctors still rely on experience and observations to diagnose patients in the absence of laboratory tests, taking people’s temperatures and looking for visible symptoms.
WHO recommends all suspected cases be tested. However, most aren’t confirmed by laboratory tests due to a shortage and the fact that most of Congo’s 26 provinces don’t have laboratories capable of processing them.
That makes it difficult to ascertain how the virus is spreading, a key mechanism to contain it, health officials say.
At his factory in Morocco, Abdeladim Moumem, Moldiag’s founder and Chief Scientific Officer, says the Moroccan-manufactured tests could help affordably remedy shortages.
“For mpox, they (WHO) recommend something like $5 and not more, and we are less than $5 a test.
“So this is something that we have in our DNA. The main thing of our presence in Africa is to provide things for Africa in a very competitive and very efficient, cost-efficient way,” says Moumem.
Moldiag won approval to distribute its mpox tests from Africa’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in November.
It hasn’t submitted paperwork to be considered for expedited approval from the World Health Organization.
During this outbreak, the WHO has approved three mpox tests from American and Swiss companies and is considering five others, including from Spanish and Chinese manufacturers.
Morocco has reported three mpox cases and most of the tests manufactured here are likely destined for export.
Moldiag last month began accepting orders from east African nations near the epicentre of the outbreaks.
“At the moment, we start to have some orders from some African countries, such as the DRC, Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as Burundi and Uganda. And this is just a start, because we just started to have orders.
“We are expecting some other orders from Nigeria, for instance, Senegal, and other countries, because we are collaborating also with the pastoral institutions in Senegal, and other countries like Ivory Coast as well.
“So this is just a start with something like 50,000 tests for all these countries, and I think that the demand will be increased in the future,” says Moumem.
Moumem says producing mpox tests in Africa helps facilitate a faster response to the pandemic.
