CDC-Monkey pox: More than 1,000 cases in 29 countries -Rarely transmitted by air

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The risk of smallpox infection in monkeys is still considered low for the general population. The CDC advises patients with smallpox to wear a mask, especially if they have respiratory symptoms, and advises those staying with them to do the same when approaching a patient.

As of June 7, there were 1,088 confirmed cases of smallpox worldwide in 29 countries, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Most of them have been found – in order – in Britain (302), Spain (198), Portugal (166), Canada (80), Germany (80), France (66), the Netherlands (54 ), in the USA (34), in Italy (20) and in Belgium (17).

The CDC now advises travelers to “take extra precautions” to avoid infection, in particular from having close contact with people with skin and genital rashes, as well as materials used by patients with the disease. , such as clothing and bedding, nor to eat meat from wild animals.

The risk of smallpox infection in monkeys is still considered low for the general population. However, in some cases transmission can also be done by air, at least at short distances. Although airborne transmission is only a small factor in the spread of monkey pox, experts are not yet able to make a sound assessment of how much this route contributes to the spread of the disease, according to the New York Times.

The CDC recommends to patients with smallpox monkeys to wear a mask, especially if they have respiratory symptoms, while he advises those who stay with them to do the same when approaching a patient. Scientists still have many questions, such as why only relatively mild cases have been reported in the current international outbreak, whether they are transmitted by asymptomatic carriers, how long the virus has been circulating outside Africa, whether it can be transmitted by semen or vaginal secretions and .a.

People who have recently been exposed to the virus can get two vaccines (ACAM200 or JYNNEOS) to reduce the severity of their symptoms or even to avoid the disease altogether. The CDC recommends that vaccines be given within four days of exposure to monkey pox virus. If given 4 to 14 days after exposure, the vaccine may not prevent infection. ACAM200 has been approved against smallpox (humans), while JYNNEOS (also known in Europe as Imvanex) against both smallpox and apes.

Jynneos-Imvanex is manufactured by the Danish pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic and is based on the oldest smallpox vaccine MVA (Modified Vaccinia Ankara) discovered in 1959 by German microbiologist Anton Meyer, according to Science. As the only approved vaccine against monkey pox today, it is expected to play a key role if needed. Already several countries (USA, Britain, Canada, etc.) have begun to selectively vaccinate people who have come into contact with a confirmed case of the disease and health professionals.

The role of the vaccine will ultimately depend on a number of factors: If those at high risk for infection are identified and vaccinated, if the vaccine actually proves as effective as hoped, and if there are enough vaccines in time to “slow down” the epidemic. . The World Health Organization (WHO), so far, has not advocated for a broader vaccination but only selective ones.

Hundreds of millions of smallpox (not monkey) vaccines, on the other hand, are stored around the world as a shield against a possible deliberate release of the terrible virus (eg from terrorists or during war). These vaccines also provide some protection against smallpox in monkeys, but they can cause rare but threatening side effects, such as encephalitis.

The Danish Bavaria Nordic is in contact with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the approval in Europe of the monkeypox vaccine already approved in the USA and Canada, which is expected to happen in one to two months. According to EMA’s Marco Cavaleri, once the vaccine is approved and available, this is where the vaccination will begin.

The main topic of discussion is expected to be in Europe and elsewhere how widespread vaccination should be. Questionable to answer is how well this approved vaccine will protect humans from monkey pox. Also, whether one dose of the vaccine will suffice, which is usually given in two doses four weeks apart.

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