Mpox vaccine advised only for Thai high-risk groups

[snoop1130]

 

The question of whether the general public should receive the mpox vaccine has been addressed by Yong Poovorawan, head of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University.

 

Highlighting the limited availability and high cost of the vaccine, he recommended it primarily for high-risk groups, particularly men who have sex with strangers.

 

Yong Poovorawan stated that the currently used third-generation vaccines are theoretically safer than the first and second-generations. However, these vaccines are still new, and their side effects need to be monitored over time. Though monkeypox is not highly severe, the emergence of new strains outside Africa warrants attention.

 

The Ministry of Public Health recently disclosed that the first Clade 1b mpox (formerly monkeypox) patient in Thailand had close contact with 43 individuals, all of whom are now under surveillance. According to Yong, over 400 mpox cases have been reported in Thailand.

 

For the general public, including both children and adults, Yong advises against vaccination at this time. Instead, the vaccine should be reserved for high-risk groups, such as men who have sex with strangers and those travelling to areas where the disease is prevalent.

 

Yong also shared insights on the development of the smallpox vaccine, which has evolved to the current third generation. Historically, smallpox caused significant mortality until Edward Jenner observed that milkmaids who contracted cowpox did not get smallpox. Jenner used cowpox pustules to inoculate a child, effectively demonstrating immunity against smallpox.

 

Contamination risks

 

The first-generation vaccines used the vaccinia virus, inoculating cows and later harvesting the virus from the pustules formed on the cows. This method involved drying the collected lymph and later rehydrating it for human inoculation. Despite the rudimentary process and potential contamination risks, this method was used extensively until smallpox was eradicated.

 

Concerns about biological warfare prompted further vaccine development. Second-generation vaccines cultivated the virus in laboratory cell cultures rather than using cows. This method allowed for more precise control over the virus quantity and improved safety from contamination. However, this generation still relied on traditional inoculation methods, which could cause side effects, particularly in immunocompromised individuals.

 

The third-generation vaccines use the same vaccinia virus but attenuated to the point where it cannot cause disease in humans. Some versions even prevent the virus from replicating, reducing the risk of side effects. These vaccines require two doses, six months apart, and are currently under patent, making them expensive.

 

Despite improvements, all vaccines can cause side effects. Historical smallpox vaccines sometimes led to severe complications, such as encephalitis and myocarditis. While the third-generation vaccines are designed to minimize these risks, their relatively recent introduction means that long-term side effects are still being studied. Given their high cost and potential side effects, these vaccines are recommended only for those at high risk, reported Khaosod.

 

By Sarishti Arora

Picture courtesy of Business standard official website

 

Source: The Thaiger 2024-08-26

 

 

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[Amethyst]

A post has been removed for contravening the following forum rule:

 

"15. You will not discriminate or post slurs, degrading or overly negative comments on the basis of race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, nationality, disability, medical history, marriage, civil partnership, pregnancy, maternity, paternity, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other irrelevant factor."

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The latest mpox clade doesn't appear to be playing out the same way in Africa as mentioned in the OP... Right now, children are bearing the brunt of it there.

 

Why is mpox being transmitted mainly between children?

In the absence of details on how the new variant behaves, experts believe that the biggest difference is not in the virus itself, but in the environment

AUG 21, 2024

 

"One of the big differences between the mpox outbreak spreading across Africa and the 2022 outbreak in Europe is how it is being transmitted. While transmission two years ago was confined almost exclusively to sexual intercourse, now the victims are mainly children, who account for 70% of cases. It seems that something has changed in the way in which this new variant (Clade 1b) is transmitted, and the extent to which this has changed is still to be clarified. But perhaps it is not changes in the virus we should be looking at so much as changes in the environment.

...

What is not in doubt is that transmission is behaving differently. But this should not be surprising either, according to Aginagalde: “Poxviruses (such as smallpox, and now mpox) have always spread more among children than adults, and more among women than men, because it is usually women who take care of children. This is not new, and it has already happened with mpox in Africa,” he says.

...

In principle, the transmission route is still considered to be direct and continuous contact. That clearly exists in the case of sexual relations, but it also happens when touching the secretions of an infected person, touching their clothing or even talking in close proximity for a period of time, with the potential for saliva droplets to be exchanged. These are the possible transmission routes cited by the World Health Organization (WHO). The more contact and the longer the contact, the greater the likelihood of transmission."

 

(more)

 

https://english.elpais.com/health/2024-08-21/why-is-mpox-being-transmitted-mainly-between-children.html

 

 

The children bearing the brunt of the mpox outbreak

12 hours ago

 

"Children in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo are worst-affected by the current outbreak of mpox, which has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization. The country accounts for nearly all of this year’s recorded cases and more than 450 deaths.

...

Some 75% of the cases being seen by medics there are under the age of 10, according to Dr Pierre-Olivier Ngadjole who works for the charity Medair.

 

Young people seem to be particularly badly affected by the mpox outbreak because of their less developed immune systems."

 

(more)

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdjwz77mmgmo

 

[rwill]

At 8,500 baht for a mpox vaccination most people here can't afford it anyway.

[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Highlighting the limited availability and high cost of the vaccine, he recommended it primarily for high-risk groups, particularly men who have sex with strangers.

Will they have a warning on this years "High season" holiday brochure.

 

[john donson]

children, well sex abusers, pedos, might use kids to think they are safe... africa and all...

[Lorry]

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

high-risk groups, particularly men who have sex with strangers.

That probably includes most farangs in Thailand,  certainly in Pattaya