Veronica Ojeda
(CNN) — The United States has responded to a request to release monkeypox vaccine from the nation’s Strategic National Stockpile as it investigates a global outbreak of cases.
There is one confirmed case of monkeypox and four suspected cases in the United States, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday.
“I can report that the release of the Jynneos vaccine from the National Stockpile has been requested for some of the high-risk contacts of some of the early patients, so that’s actively happening right now,” Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology within the CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases.
McQuiston said the United States has a “good stockpile” of vaccine because it has been preparing for the possibility of needing smallpox doses.
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In the United States, the two-dose Jynneos vaccine is licensed to prevent smallpox, and specifically to prevent monkeypox.
“Right now, we have over 1,000 doses available and we expect that level to increase very rapidly in the coming weeks as the company provides us with more doses,” McQuiston said.
Another smallpox vaccine, but with “significant side effects”
There is another smallpox vaccine licensed in the United States, ACAM2000, which could be used to prevent monkeypox, he said, and the country has more than 100 million doses.
“ACAM2000 is an older generation smallpox vaccine that has some significant potential side effects. Therefore, the decision to use it widely would have to be the subject of serious debate,” said McQuiston.
Overall, “we hope to maximize distribution of the vaccine to those we know would benefit from it,” he said. “These are people who have been in contact with known monkeypox patients, healthcare workers, very close personal contacts, and those who, in particular, might be at high risk of severe illness.”
What is monkeypox and what are its symptoms? 2:45
Tests to confirm cases of monkeypox
The confirmed case of monkeypox in the US is in a man from Massachusetts, and the four orthopox cases are in men from New York, Florida and Utah, according to the CDC. Orthopox refers to smallpox viruses in general.
McQuiston said health care providers should assume these orthopox cases are monkeypox.
“Additional cases are likely to be reported in the United States,” he said.
McQuiston said the CDC expects to receive samples from all four suspected cases “today or tomorrow” for further testing. Labs in the CDC’s Laboratory Response Network can test for monkeypox virus and then confirm it to the agency through PCR tests, which take “a couple of hours” to run, he said. the.
“From the moment the CDC receives a sample, we would be able to run our confirmatory monkeypox PCR tests probably the same day. Although we have seen that the turnaround time is a couple of days from the time a suspected patient comes to a doctor’s care until he is able to get the initial results from the LRN lab,” said McQuiston.
What is the difference between monkeypox and normal smallpox? Are they just as deadly?
The sequencing by the CDC of the sample from the confirmed case in Massachusetts was “really fast” and in 48 hours the researchers were able to verify that it closely matched that of a case in Portugal.
“This process used to take up to two weeks, but we were able to publish it in two days because we believe that this type of public sharing of early sequence data is going to be important for all countries to better understand how the virus is spreading around the world” McQuiston said.
They warn that many affected are from the LGTBQ community
Monkeypox is not sexually transmitted, but it can be spread by contact during sexual intercourse, said Dr. John Brooks, chief medical officer for HIV prevention at the CDC.
“Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted infection in the typical sense, but it can be transmitted during sexual and intimate intercourse, as well as through personal contact and shared bedding and clothing,” Brooks said Monday.
Anyone can get or spread monkeypox, but a “remarkable fraction of cases” in the latest global outbreak is occurring among gay and bisexual men.
“Some groups may have a higher chance of exposure right now, but the current risk of exposure to monkeypox is by no means unique to the gay and bisexual community in the United States,” Brooks said. “Anyone, anyone, can develop and spread monkeypox infection, yet many of those affected in the current global outbreak identified as gay and bisexual men.”
Canada records suspected cases of monkeypox in gay men
Brooks said the CDC decided to hold a news conference about the outbreak now because LGBTQ Pride month typically begins around Memorial Day weekend and officials wanted to make sure the community was aware of the situation. He also urged doctors to be vigilant about the disease, because it can mimic other types of STDs.
Monkeypox produces “anal or genital lesions”
He said the rash is “appearing on different parts of the body than we normally expect to see.”
“In some cases, it has produced anal or genital lesions that resemble other diseases such as herpes, chicken pox or syphilis. So anyone who has a rash or lesion around or on their genitals, anus, or anywhere else they haven’t seen before, get a full evaluation, both for that rash and, in particular, for infection of sexually transmitted and other diseases that can cause a rash,” he said.
Monkeypox can last from two to four weeks. What are the symptoms?
“What we’re trying to do by drawing attention to the fact that some of these cases have had a genital and perianal presentation is just to remind people that people can come in for evaluation for what they think is an STD, but we would like the provider to think “could it also be monkeypox?” if the circumstances fit the story.”
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