The United States plans to distribute monkeypox vaccines and medical treatments to close contacts of infected people, as there are already five confirmed or probable cases in the country where the outbreak appears to be growing, officials have said.
There is a confirmed infection in the United States, in Massachusetts, and four other cases of people infected with orthopoxvirus – from the same family to which monkeypox belongs, according to officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION).
All the cases are presumed to be suspected monkeypox, and are in the process of being confirmed at CDC headquarters, said Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the division of high-consequence pathogenesis and pathologies.
One of the cases with orthopoxvirus is in New York, another in Florida and the rest of the cases in Utah. All patients are men.
Genetic sequencing of the Massachusetts case matches that of a patient in Portugal and loses to a West African strain, the least aggressive of the two existing monkeypox strains.
“Right now we hope to maximize the distribution of vaccines to those who we know can remember this,” McQuiston said.
That is, "to people who have had contact with a monkeypox patient, health workers, their closest contacts, and in particular those who may be at high risk of severe disease."
USA I hope to increase the dose in the coming weeks.
The United States has about a thousand doses of the JYNNEOS compound, a vaccine approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for smallpox and monkeypox and “s'estera expects to increase that level rapidly in the coming weeks. as the company supplies us with more doses,” McQuiston explained.
There are also about 100 million doses of an earlier generation vaccine called ACAM2000.
Both vaccines use live virus, but only JYNNEOS suppresses the ability of the virus to replicate, making it the safer option, according to McQuiston.
How is monkeypox spread?
Transmission of monkeypox occurs through close and sustained contact with someone who has an active skin rash, or by respiratory droplets from someone with lesions of the disease in their mouth who is around other people for a considerable time. .
The virus can cause skin rashes, with lesions occurring on certain parts of the skin, or spreading more generally. In some cases, in early stages, a rash may begin on the genitals or in the perianal area.
While scientists are concerned that the growing number of cases around the world could indicate a new type of transmission, McQuiston has stated that there is currently no evidence to support such a theory.
In addition, the growing number of cases could be related to specific contagion events, such as the recent massive parties in Europe, which could explain a higher prevalence in the gay and bisexual community.
