Las vaccines against monkey pox they take a few weeks to develop an immune response in the body, Rosamund Lewis, an expert in this disease of the World Health Organization (WHO)who insisted that mass vaccination of populations is ruled out for now.
“For now we recommend the vaccination only to those who may be exposed to cases,” said the director of the response of the OMS to this disease, who cited among possible candidates to be vaccinated family members, friends and sexual contacts of people in whom the disease has been confirmed, as well as health workers.
Lewis indicated that the recommended vaccines for this disease are currently three: the MVA-BN (manufactured in Denmark), the Japanese LC16 and the American ACAM2000, initially developed against conventional smallpox, a more serious disease but which was eradicated in the planet more than 40 years ago.
Prevention without stigma
The expert assured that the current outbreak, declared an international emergency on July 23, “can be stopped with appropriate strategies aimed at certain groups,” without entailing stigma and discrimination.
About 98% of cases have so far been detected in men who maintain sexual intercourse with other men, recalled Lewis, who also cited that cases have been detected in almost a dozen children (less than 0.06% of the 16,000 total confirmed cases in the current outbreak).
The person in charge of the OMS indicated that there are discussions within the organization for a possible change of name of the disease, since the current one erroneously points to primates as its origin, when studies indicate that it actually passed from the animal world to humans through rodents
The disease was namedmonkey pox” when it was first detected in primates during laboratory studies in Denmark, in 1958.
Lewis acknowledged, however, that the current name is already in wide use among doctors and health workers, as well as appearing on the official list of diseases of the OMSso the modification would require a complex process.
EFE
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