Based on previous data from Africa, the two available vaccines are thought to be up to 85 percent effective in preventing monkeypox infection. They can also protect against infection for up to four days after exposure to monkeypox and for up to two weeks after exposure to monkeypox to reduce the severity of symptoms in those who are sick.
Other treatments include an antiviral drug called TPOXX, which is approved for monkeypox in the European Union but has not been approved for smallpox in the United States. For U.S. doctors to prescribe TPOXX for monkeypox, they have to apply for the drug to the CDC and then complete the paperwork for everyone, which means prescription volumes have been low. The CDC says it is working to reduce this red tape. Patients and healthcare professionals have criticized the group for not addressing the supply issue fast enough.
If someone is very sick, the CDC says two other treatments are available — a monoclonal antibody called vaccinia immunoglobulin and an antiviral drug called cidofovir. But there is still no data on the effectiveness of either.
Can I get vaccinated even if I have not been exposed to the vaccine?
Vaccines are not yet widely available. However, if you are at higher risk of contracting monkeypox, you may be eligible for monkeypox even if you have no explicit exposure to monkeypox.
The current outbreak is mainly spreading among men who have sex with men (MSM). In the United States, this means that MSM who have multiple sexual partners in the past 14 days and who live in an area where monkeypox is transmitted are eligible for the vaccine, according to the CDC. If you think you are eligible, please contact your healthcare provider.
Note that in some states, the eligibility criteria are more extensive, so check where you are. For example, in North Carolina, MSM with multiple or anonymous sexual partners in the past 90 days is eligible, and there are no territorial restrictions. MSM who have taken PrEP in the past 90 days or have been diagnosed with an STI are also eligible.
That said, be aware that you may have to wait for a dose to become available. At the time of writing, supply shortages meant New York City had no bookable vaccination appointments, and San Francisco had to shut down its temporary vaccination service.
In the UK, MSM who have multiple partners, engage in group sex or participate in ‘place sex’ venues are given priority to be vaccinated. However, if you think you may be eligible, the NHS will ask you to wait to be invited to get vaccinated – no walk-in service.
Where does monkeypox come from?
While the current outbreak will be the first time many people have heard of monkeypox, the virus is thought to have infected humans for centuries, possibly even millennia. Monkeypox is a member of the same virus family as chickenpox and smallpox, with the first recorded cases dating back to 1958, when two outbreaks occurred in laboratory monkey colonies—hence the name.
That’s a bit of a misnomer, though. The virus is commonly carried by rodents such as squirrels, kangaroos and dormouse. Past cases have tended to occur near tropical rainforests in Central and West Africa, where the virus is endemic. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) saw a more than 14-fold increase in cases from the 1980s to 2010, with nearly 4,600 suspected monkeypox cases in the DRC in 2020 alone. Nigeria has also seen more than 550 suspected cases since 2017. Given these numbers and how interconnected the world is due to air travel, the current global outbreak is actually less surprising.
Where can I get reliable information about the disease?
This WHO, CDCand UK Health Security Agency Has been providing regular updates on the monkeypox outbreak on Twitter. Global.health — an international collaboration that provides real-time data on infectious diseases — has also created a monkeypox tracker to monitor the occurrence of confirmed and suspected cases. These all provide reliable information about the current outbreak.
It is important to avoid stigmatizing infected people. One of the main myths circulating is that monkeypox only affects men who have sex with men, or that this group is the cause of the outbreak. People of any gender or sexual orientation can contract the disease.
Other particularly ludicrous rumors include claims that certain Covid-19 vaccines cause monkeypox because they inject chimpanzee genomic information into your cells, the virus is airborne, infections double every three days, monkeypox is as deadly as smallpox, And that it’s a man-made virus that leaked from a lab – none of this is true.
This story was originally published on May 27, 2022 and has been updated to reflect new information.
