Mpox vaccine makers Applied DNA surged over 20% in premarket trading on Tuesday after the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency and the first case of a new, more dangerous, Mpox strain outside of Africa was reported in Sweden. Virax Biolabs rose 4.85%.

The WHO declared the rapid spread of a new Mpox strain a global public-health emergency. The 2022 outbreak of the disease — formerly known as monkeypox — infected almost 100,000 people globally, according to the WHO. Young people are the most affected by this new variant.

A mutated form of mpox has been circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo for months. Now the response to what has become a global health emergency faces a key obstacle: The country still doesn ’ t have a single vaccine.

The absence of shots and challenges in understanding the spread of the disease in the central African country underscore how hold-ups on the ground, a lack of international coordination and funding problems have hampered a swift response.

The chain of delayed reactions to the crisis began during the last mpox emergency that ended in 2023, with the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saying the continent didn ’ t get the appropriate support.

Even as the threat from mpox returned and the organization responsible for global vaccine distribution expressed its concern, Congo held off formally requesting vaccine donations. Drug regulators in the country only approved emergency use for the shots in June.

Meanwhile, multiple countries, organizations and potential donors are trying to help but are only just starting to coordinate a joint response.