People who are not vaccinated against monkeypox, even with a single dose, are 14 times more likely to get infected than those who did the vaccine at least two weeks before exposure. This is the result of a US study conducted by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and published on Jama. The CDC currently recommends two doses of the Jynneos vaccine 4 weeks apart for people at high risk of infection due to confirmed or presumed exposure to an infected person.
5 thousand people affected by smallpox are under examination
The research, which responded to the goal of evaluating the effects of monkeypox vaccination efforts, focused on analyzing the vaccination status of 5,402 infected between July 31 and September 3, 2022. September 28, too few were those who, at risk of contagion, had completed the series to evaluate the effects of 2 doses.
In particular, about 85% of cases of infection occurred among unvaccinated, while 1.4% involved those who had received at least one dose 14 days before the disease. Finally, 5% occurred among those who received at least one dose 13 or fewer days before the disease, while 8% involved people with vaccination status.
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“The duration of immunity after a single dose is not yet known,” the research authors pointed out. “And since vaccine efficacy and duration of protection are expected to improve after 2 doses, it is still important that all vaccinated people receive the second “.
“Monkeypox cases are still an emergency”
Although cases are no longer growing at the rate of recent months, the monkeypox outbreak continues to meet the criteria for an international health emergency. This was established and approved by the WHO Emergency Committee.
Today we are at 915 cases in Italy (in Europe there are about 20 thousand) and the highest incidence is recorded in Lombardy, Lazio, Emilia Romagna and Veneto. The median age of the infected is 37 years and at the moment almost all are male. According to the latest WHO update, the people affected by Monkeypox worldwide, from the beginning of the epidemic to today, are 77,934, while the deaths were 36.
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Less infections in high-income countries
“Overall, the conditions that justified the determination of the Public health emergency of international concern they persist, as the monkeypox epidemic continues to be an extraordinary event that poses a risk to public health due to international spread, “wrote the World Health Organization.
The trend of the epidemic, however, shows strong differences between high-income and low-income countries. In the former, WHO explains, a sharp decline in infections has been observed, but to date, it is not clear whether it was “the adoption of safer sexual behaviors among high-risk populations; the seasonal reduction of large gatherings; the increase in pre- and post-exposure vaccination rates; the possible increase in immunity following infection among those who are most at risk of contagion “.
Greater diffusion in the poorest countries
On the contrary, in low-income countries, in addition to the reduced possibility of access to diagnostic tools, drugs and vaccines, the great lack of data is worrying: in some areas of Africa, for example, it is difficult to determine whether the infections are of animal origin. or whether it is human-to-human transmission. Also for these reasons, the WHO at the moment preferred to adopt a cautious attitude, motivated by the “concern about the potential negative consequences that would derive from the withdrawal of the emergency declaration at this time”.
This is why the virus spreads quickly
But why is monkeypox spreading so quickly? An answer comes from a second study, this time published in the Journal of Autoimmunity, conducted by scientists from the University of Missouri. The team, led by Kamlendra Singh e Shrikesh Sachdevidentified specific mutations in the virus that contribute to its continued infectivity.
It turns out that they would facilitate the ability of monkeypox to spread rapidly and to resist drugs and vaccines. In this regard, the research group analyzed the DNA sequences of over 200 strains of the virus in question, which since 1965 has infected tens of thousands of people all over the world.
“Through a temporal analysis we were able to reconstruct the evolution of the accumulated mutations – says Sachdev -. We discovered that the pathogen is becoming more intelligent, able to evade the body’s immune response and spread faster. in the population “.
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The computer model of proteins
Experts developed a computer model of the virus proteins to identify the location of specific mutations and their role in the course of the disease. Five specific proteins were examined during the analysis of the monkeypox strains. These results, the experts point out, “could favor the development of more effective drugs against the disease”.
“The mutation factors are certainly contributing to the increase in the infectivity of the virus – observes Singh -. This work represents the first step towards solving a global health problem”.
But there is a final stumbling block, that of drugs approved by the CDC which, according to experts, have not shown optimal efficacy probably because they were originally developed to treat HIV and herpes “.
“There are several hypotheses as to why these mutations may favor the replication of the virus – concludes Singh -. In the next steps we will try to identify an effective approach strategy to prevent and combat the infection”.