9 June 2022
Staff of the Ministry of Health in India checks travelers arriving from outside the country at the international airport in Chennai for symptoms of monkeypox.
The German Immunization Advisory Committee recommended Thursday that the Imphanix vaccine, made by the Bavarian Nordic company, be given to people over the age of 18 at high risk of developing monkeypox.
The committee said that this category of people includes men who have same-sex relationships with more than one partner and workers in infectious disease laboratories.
This comes a day following the World Health Organization warned that the risk of monkeypox becoming an entrenched disease in countries where it is not considered endemic has become real, with more than a thousand confirmed cases of the disease recorded in these countries.
But WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organization does not recommend mass vaccinations once morest the virus, adding that no deaths have been reported so far from the outbreak.
“The risk of monkeypox becoming an entrenched disease in countries where it is not considered endemic is real,” Tedros told a news conference on Wednesday.
This zoonotic disease is endemic to humans in nine African countries but outbreaks have been reported over the past month in several other countries – mostly in Europe, particularly in Britain, Spain and Portugal.
“More than 1,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox have been reported to the World Health Organization from 29 countries where the disease is not considered endemic,” Tedros said.
“So far, no deaths have been reported in these countries. The reported cases are mainly, but not exclusively, among men who have had sexual relations with other men,” he added.
He went on to say that “some countries are now beginning to report cases of transmission apparently among members of the community, including some cases among women.”
Greece was the last country to confirm, on Wednesday, the emergence of its first case of the disease, as the health authorities there said that it was related to a man who had recently traveled to Portugal while he was in hospital and his condition was stable.
The first symptoms of monkeypox include fever, swollen lymph nodes, and a rash similar to that seen in people with chickenpox.
Tedros said he is particularly concerned regarding the threat the virus poses to vulnerable groups such as pregnant women and children.
He added that the sudden and unexpected appearance of monkeypox outside the countries where it is considered endemic indicates that there may have been undetected transmission of the infection for some time, but its timing is unknown.
It is worth noting that the emergence of a single case of monkeypox in a country where the disease is not endemic is considered an outbreak.
While this outbreak is “obviously worrying”, Tedros said, the virus has been killing people for decades in Africa, where more than 1,400 suspected monkeypox cases and 66 deaths have so far been recorded this year.
“Communities that live with the threat of this virus every day deserve the same amount of concern, care, and access to protection tools,” he said.
What regarding the vaccine?
Vaccines are used in the few places where they are available to ensure protection for the most vulnerable, such as health care workers.
Tedros said the post-exposure vaccination, ideally within four days, might be considered for high-risk contacts, such as sexual partners or family members.
He added that the World Health Organization will issue guidelines in the coming days on clinical care, infection prevention and control, vaccination and community protection.
He advised people who had symptoms to isolate themselves at home and seek a doctor’s advice, while people living in the same house should avoid direct contact with the patient.
The WHO said at the end of last week that there were very few cases reported being hospitalized, other than patients who had been isolated.
The smallpox vaccine can be used to provide protection once morest monkeypox with a high degree of effectiveness, as the two viruses that infect animals and humans are similar, said Sylvie Briand, director of the Department of Epidemic Preparedness and Prevention at the World Health Organization.
The organization is trying to determine the number of doses currently available and to know the capabilities of manufacturers in the areas of production and distribution.
