Vaccinate healthcare workers who are at risk of being immunized
- An outbreak of monkeypox has broken out in the past two months with more than 4,100 confirmed cases worldwide.
- Smallpox cases in monkeys in the US have surpassed 200 in 25 states including California, Florida, New York and Texas.
- Health officials have begun vaccinating those at risk of the disease. New York City opened a vaccine clinic last week.
Cases of monkey pox is on the rise across the United States, and as health officials maintain the threat to the general population is low, efforts to vaccinate those at risk have begun.
The disease is caused by a virus and was first identified in humans in 1970 World Health Organization, commonly seen in parts of Central and West Africa. Scientists think it has occasionally jumped from animals, possibly rodents, to humans.
As of May 2022, there have been more than 4,100 confirmed cases of monkeypox reported – and one death – in 47 countries across Europe and South America, according to the report. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the US, more than 200 cases of monkeypox were reported in 25 states as of Friday, the CDC said. States reporting cases include California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
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Earlier this week, the Biden administration began shipping smallpox tests in monkeys to commercial labs including Aegis Science, Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics to expand testing capacity.
The illness is rare, often starting with flu-like symptoms including fever preceded by muscle aches, chills, and fatigue. It can progress to include a rash, often on the face and genitals.
Monkeypox can be spread by person-to-person contact with rashes, scabs, or bodily fluids – and by touching items such as clothing or bedding that an infected person has used.
Most people recover from monkeypox within a few weeks, but the disease can be fatal for 1 in 10 people. WHO speak.
Who needs the monkeypox vaccine?
Those most at risk of contracting monkeypox during this outbreak are gay men, bisexuals or other men who have sex with men, health officials said.
In the UK, where Britain has had the largest outbreak of monkeypox outside of Africa, a vaccine is currently being considered for those most at risk: men who have sex with men and have multiple sex partners, engage in group sex or go to onsite sex sites. A survey of sufferers in the UK found that 96% were gay, bisexual or having sex with other men.
CDC also recommends vaccination for laboratory and healthcare workers – and any others – who may be exposed to monkeypox.
What is the Jynneos vaccine?
Jynneos vaccine, approved in 2019 by Food and Drug Administration For the prevention of smallpox and monkeypox in people 18 years of age and older, two doses are required, four weeks apart. The CDC is also working on a measure to allow the vaccine to be used in children.
The Jynneos vaccine is considered safer than alternatives because it is made from a virus that is related to smallpox and monkeypox, but is less harmful. The study that led to its approval found that Jynneos produced an immune response similar to that of the smallpox vaccine. Research data shows that the vaccine is at least 85% effective in preventing smallpox in monkeys, according to Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
However, it remains unclear how the vaccine protects humans from monkeypox. Studies conducted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo showed that none of the 1,600 vaccinated healthcare workers had monkeypox for two years, Science magazine reported. However, the study did not include a control group and one person who developed monkeypox after the study period.
The Department of Health and Human Services, in its Strategic National Stockpile, has more than 36,000 Jynneos courses and is expected to receive about 500,000 more courses delivered this year, according to the report. CDC.
“The truth is we don’t know the effectiveness of any monkeypox vaccine,” Ira Longini, a biostatistician at the University of Florida who is consulting with the WHO, told Science.
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Does the smallpox vaccine protect against monkeypox?
The United States has 100 million doses of the smallpox vaccine ACAM2000, CDC says. Research from Africa shows the vaccine is at least 85 percent effective at preventing smallpox in monkeys, the agency said.
Follow FDAincluding inflammation and swelling of the heart and surrounding tissues, inflammation of the brain (inflammation of the brain), and the spread of the virus to the rest of the body or other people they come into contact with.
This vaccine is not made from the smallpox virus, but from a poxvirus similar to smallpox.
New York City is offering smallpox vaccine to monkeys, do other states have?
The New York City Department of Health and hospitals have vaccinated people who suspect they have come into contact with people with monkeypox. Last week’s set opened an eligible vaccine clinic for all gay, bisexual, and other men who have had multiple or anonymous same-sex sex partners in the past two weeks.
The agency said other states and local agencies have also worked with the CDC on vaccinations.
The California Department of Public Health requested and received the vaccine from its stockpile to protect against smallpox in monkeys, the agency told USA TODAY in a statement.
The agency said that across the state’s five counties, 52 cases have been reported. “Cases have mainly occurred in gay, bisexual and other men and transgender people who have sex with men,” the statement said. “Monkeypox is transmitted by close and intimate physical contact. Although the risk to the general public is very low, it is important to remember that anyone who comes into contact with an infected person can get sick. monkeypox. People with unusual skin rashes or lesions should contact their health care provider for an evaluation.”
CDC recommends that you contact your health care provider if you have any symptoms of monkeypox, even if you do not think you have been exposed to someone who has the disease.
Is there a treatment for monkeypox?
People with monkeypox often develop painful and itchy lesions, which eventually become scabs and fall off. Infected people start showing symptoms 7 to 14 days after exposure and can remain contagious for several weeks.
The CDC says monkeypox and smallpox vaccines, given within four days of exposure, can prevent the onset of the disease — and can reduce symptoms if given within two weeks. after contact.
However, there is currently no proven treatment for smallpox in monkeys, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. But there are some antiviral drugs used to treat smallpox and other conditions that may help patients with monkeypox.
The antiviral drug Tecovirimat, developed to treat smallpox, has been approved for emergency treatment of viruses such as monkeypox.
An antibody drug, Vaccinia Immune Globulin Intra static (VIGIV), was developed to treat side effects caused by smallpox vaccination, and another antiviral drug Cidofovir, used to treat infections ophthalmic in AIDS patients, is also available for emergency treatment of monkeypox and similar viruses. Another antiviral drug, Brincidofovir, can be used to treat the disease, and research continues into additional treatments and vaccines.
Contributing: Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY; Related press
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