China to make Mpox vaccine

China's first independently developed mpox vaccine has received regulatory approval for human trials, potentially playing a key role in preventing and controlling the infectious disease caused by the virus.

The National Medical Products Administration on Monday gave the green light for the Shanghai Institute of Biological Products' mpox vaccine to start clinical trials, according to the official WeChat account of the institute's parent company, China National Biotec Group.

Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is a viral disease similar to smallpox. 

First discovered in 1958, there have been multiple outbreaks globally in the past two years, most recently in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and an increasing number of countries in Africa.

On Aug. 14, the World Health Organization declared the latest mpox outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern." According to data released by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Aug. 26, Africa had reported 22,863 cases since the start of the year, including 622 deaths.