LONDON (AP) – British health officials will start offering vaccines to some men who have sex with men and are at the highest risk of contracting monkeypox, in an attempt to curb the largest outbreak outside Africa.
Doctors may consider vaccinating some men at the highest risk of exposure, the British Health Security Agency said in a statement Tuesday. The agency identifies those at highest risk as men who have sex with men and who have multiple partners, engage in group sex, or visit places where sex takes place.
“By extending the supply of vaccines to those at higher risk, we hope to break the transmission chain and help control the outbreak,” said Dr. Mary Ramsey, head of immunization at the Health Security Agency.
Last month, a leading adviser to the World Health Organization said that the monkeypox epidemic outside Africa probably spread through sexual activity by men at raves in Spain and Belgium.
Previously, vaccines were only available to healthcare professionals caring for monkeypox patients or to cleaners disinfecting areas contaminated with the virus. The vaccine was originally developed for smallpox-related disease, but is thought to be about 85% effective against monkeypox.
To date, more than 99% of monkeypox cases in the UK are among men, with the majority being men who are gay, bisexual or have sex with men. Scientists warn that anyone who is in close physical contact with someone infected with monkeypox, or their clothes or sheets, is at risk of the disease, regardless of their sexual orientation.
There are currently 793 cases of monkeypox in the United Kingdom, out of more than 2,100 cases in 42 countries around the world. No deaths have been reported outside Africa.
Until last month, monkeypox caused large outbreaks only in Central and West Africa; the continent has so far reported more than 1,500 cases and 72 suspected deaths in a single epidemic. Vaccines to control monkeypox have never been used in Africa.
Last week, Adros Gebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, described the continuing spread of monkeypox in countries that had not previously seen the disease as “unusual and alarming.”
Tedros convened an expert meeting Thursday to decide whether the growing outbreak of monkeypox requires a declaration of global emergency. This would give it the same designation as the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing efforts to eradicate polio.
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