Japan has sent the Democratic Republic of the Congo 50,000 doses of a vaccine against mpox, previously known as monkeypox.

The Japanese government said on Monday that the doses had reached the African country on Friday.

A variant that is more likely to cause severe symptoms has been spreading in the DRC and elsewhere. The World Health Organization in August declared a public health emergency of international concern.

At the request of the DRC, Tokyo decided to provide a vaccine developed by Japanese company KM Biologics.

In December, the Japanese government sent officials and doctors to the DRC to give local medical workers training on how to administer the vaccine, as well as other precautions.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the number of people infected with the virus, including suspected cases, is believed to exceed 50,000 in the DRC. It also says about 30 percent of them are children under 15.

The Japanese vaccine can be administered to people under the age of 18.

The Japanese government says the DRC has asked for 3.05 million doses.

The health ministry says it will send the remaining doses to the DRC as soon as they are ready.