LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - Authorities in the

Democratic of Congo have approved the use of two mpox vaccines

to try to tackle an upsurge in cases and a dangerous new strain

spreading in the country.

Congo has seen 20,000 cases and more than 1,000 deaths from

mpox, mainly among children, since the start of last year.

The disease is a viral infection that spreads through close

contact, causing flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Most

cases are mild but it can kill.

This week, the World Health Organization (WHO) and

scientists warned of a new, more deadly strain spreading in

Congo's South Kivu province.

The regulator has issued an emergency use authorisation for

both Bavarian Nordic's ( BVNKF ) shot, Jynneos, and LC16, made by KM

Biologics, according to documents and sources involved in the

process.

Congo, one of the poorest countries in the world, saw the

first human mpox case in 1970, but has never had access to

vaccines or treatments to tackle the disease outside clinical

trials.

Both tools were widely available in European countries and

the United States in 2022 when an outbreak of a less severe

strain of mpox spread globally.

In the latest outbreak in Congo, national and international

regulatory barriers, a lack of funding, competing disease

outbreaks and stigma have held back the response.

The chief executive of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Sania

Nishtar, told Reuters last week that her organisation was ready

to use COVID-19 era protocols to facilitate donations of the

vaccines from the United States and Japan once an approval was

in place. A spokesperson for Bavarian Nordic ( BVNKF ) on Wednesday

confirmed the approval in Congo.

Although the Congo authorities have approved the vaccines,

Gavi, which funds the purchase of vaccines for low-income

countries that are unable to do so alone, cannot buy them

without them being "pre-qualified" by the World Health

Organization, a form of approval.

In the absence of the approval, Gavi is reliant on donated

vaccines.

A WHO spokesperson said the agency is working with the

vaccine manufacturers on an approval process. He urged countries

to proceed with their own approvals as well as providing the WHO

with more data to move the process forward.

Other challenges to tackling Congo's outbreak include stigma

around the disease, which spreads through close contact,

including sexual contact.

Funding is also an issue, Cris Kacita, who leads mpox

operations nationally in Congo, told Reuters.

He said $84 million is needed to respond in the provinces

most at risk, but only $8 million has been raised.