WHO says there is no need for mass vaccination against monkeypox
The World Health Organization (WHO) believes that mass vaccination is not yet needed when monkeypox outbreaks outside Africa, as measures such as good hygiene and safe sex practices will help control spread.
Reuters news agency quoted Richard Pebody, head of the high-threat pathogen group at WHO Europe. He also said that the immediate supply of vaccines and antiviral drugs is relatively limited.
The information was announced as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that they were in the process of releasing several doses of the Jynneos vaccine for use in cases of monkeypox infection.
On May 23, the German government said it was evaluating vaccination options while Britain had vaccinated some health workers. Public health officials in Europe and North America are investigating more than 100 suspected and confirmed cases of the virus in the worst outbreak of monkeypox virus outside of Africa.
According to Pebody, the main measures to control the outbreak are contact tracing and isolation. The official noted that this is not a contagious virus and so far, it has not caused serious illness. Vaccines used against monkeypox can have some significant side effects.
The cause of this outbreak is unknown. Scientists are still trying to understand the source of the cases and whether something about the virus has changed.
Another senior executive official at the WHO said on May 23 that there was no evidence that the virus had mutated. Many of the people diagnosed with monkeypox in the latest outbreak are men who have sex with men. Most of the infections are not related to travel in Africa, so this suggests there could be a large number of cases going undetected. Some health authorities suspect that the disease has spread in the community to some extent.
“So what we’re seeing is just the tip of the iceberg,” Pebody said.
Hoai Linh
at Blogtuan.info – Source: vietnamnet.vn – Read the original article here
