Health studies purchase of monkeypox vaccine and seeks virus sample

The Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, told the Sheet This Wednesday (1st) the government is studying the purchase of a vaccine that can prevent monkeypox contamination.

The acquisition, still under evaluation, can be made for specific groups, such as health professionals who deal directly with infected people or live in border regions.

“First you have to circumscribe who the audience is. [todos] health professionals in general”, he said. “At first, [serão] those who are dealing with these cases, those who live in border regions… We are, together with the world health authorities, looking for the niche in which it should be applied”, he said.

“We are with Opas [Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde] looking for contacts to have the vaccine”, he added.

Brazil still does not have confirmed cases of the disease, but monitors three suspects (in Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Ceará). According to Queiroga, the situation is one of “monitoring” — but not of “concern”.

“It’s not something that’s serious. Naturally, [entre] the most vulnerable, young children, the elderly, can have an impact. We are monitoring,” she said.

The Ministry of Health also wants to obtain a sample of the virus to use as a reference in laboratory tests. In the technical term, this sample would serve as a “positive control”.

The expectation is that the material will arrive in Brazil by the end of the week, also via Opas.

According to the minister, three Brazilian laboratories are able to diagnose the disease: Funed (Ezequiel Dias Foundation), in Minas Gerais, UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) and the Adolfo Lutz Institute, in São Paulo.

The Ministry of Health has avoided the term “monkey smallpox” for fear that, with the eventual arrival of the disease in Brazil, the population will start killing the animals.

The minister, as well as his staff, have been using the English name —monkeypox.

Despite the name of the disease, rodents (such as squirrels) are the main suspects of being the reservoirs of the virus.

According to Ethel Maciel, epidemiologist and professor at Ufes (Federal University of Espírito Santo), there are two vaccines capable of protecting against monkeypox: one specific for the disease and the vaccine against smallpox, which was used in the past.

The Ministry of Health created a situation room to monitor the progress of the disease. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations brought together experts in a consultative group.

The main signs and symptoms of smallpox are fever, skin rashes, and enlarged lymph nodes (adenomegaly).

Despite President Jair Bolsonaro’s resistance to protective masks during the Covid-19 pandemic, Ministry of Health reports suggest that people use the instrument also in the case of smallpox. Also, wash your hands often.

Even without registration in the country, the emergence of new cases of monkeypox in the world has made Brazilians go after the vaccine. With the eradication of the disease, the immunizing agent stopped being applied in Brazil in 1979.

In a survey carried out by Abcvac (Brazilian Association of Vaccine Clinics) at the request of the Sheet73% of the associates responded that the demand for the immunizing agent has increased.

The latest bulletin released by the Ministry of Health on the disease indicates that 435 cases have already been confirmed in 24 countries, and 27 are under investigation.