Dr. Andrew Omame, Dr. Chigozie Louisa J. Ugwu and Prof. Woldegebriel Assefa Woldegerima, with collaborators, have published a new paper in One Health (Volume 22).
“Assessing the impact of vaccination and behavioural change on Mpox transmission in high-risk groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo using an age-structured mathematical model” looks at how vaccination and behaviour-driven contact reduction among high-risk adults work together, within an age- and risk-structured modelling framework.
Key findings
- Among adults, behavioural change does more than vaccination to reduce mpox transmission.
- Vaccinating children has a larger effect than either reducing contacts or immunizing adults.
- Starting a 50% reduction in contacts among high-risk adults about 20 weeks earlier gives a further 20% fall in cumulative cases.
The study provides evidence for allocating vaccine and prioritizing behavioural interventions among high-risk groups, with the aim of preventing sustained transmission in the DRC.
Congratulations to the whole team on this publication.