London: British health officials start offering vaccines to some men who have sex with men and are at higher risk of contracting smallpox, in an effort to curb the biggest outbreak of the disease ever seen beyond Africa .
Doctors may consider vaccinating some men at the highest risk of exposure, the British Health Security Agency said in a statement overnight. The agency identified those most at risk as men who have sex with men and have multiple partners, engage in group sex, or attend places where sex takes place on the premises.
Monkeypox samples rest in a refrigerator in the microbiology laboratory of La Paz Hospital in Madrid, Spain, on June 6. Credit: Getty Images
“By expanding the supply of vaccines to people at higher risk, we hope to break the chains of transmission and help contain the outbreak,” said the head of immunization at the Health Security Agency, Dr. Mary Ramsay.
Last month, a senior adviser to the World Health Organization said the smallpox outbreak beyond Africa was likely to be spread by the sexual activity of radish men in Spain and Belgium.
The virus does not spread easily among people and is not currently defined as a sexually transmitted infection. But it spreads through close contact, including during sex. Scientists are now running to understand what is driving this new outbreak beyond Africa and whether anything has changed about the virus.
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In Britain, vaccines were previously only available to healthcare workers who care for smallpox patients or to cleaners who disinfect areas infected with the virus. The vaccine was originally developed for smallpox, a related disease, but is thought to be approximately 85% effective against monkeypox.
A person’s eligibility will depend on a number of factors, but it will be similar to the criteria used to assess those eligible for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a preventive medicine taken by people at risk for HIV, he said. the UK health agency.
To date, more than 99 per cent of cases of monkeypox in Britain are found among men, and most of them are found in gay, bisexual or male sex. Scientists warn that anyone who is in close physical contact with someone infected with smallpox or their clothing or sheets is at risk for the disease, regardless of their sexual orientation.