Smallpox vaccine proves to be dead end in monkeypox fight

Supakit: Testing done on volunteers
Supakit: Testing done on volunteers

The majority of adults plus senior citizens who were vaccinated against smallpox may have no immunity in order to monkeypox, according to the Department of Medical Sciences.

Thankfully, vaccination is not getting called for at the moment as the rate of bacterial infections and mortality continues to be low and personal preventive steps alone are still adequate, Dr Supakit Sirilak, the department’s main, said on Monday.

Speaking at a Ministry of Public Health push conference, Dr Supakit revealed that lab tests on people aged over 40 who received the particular smallpox vaccine whenever they were younger experienced proven no solid correlation.

The department used the Plaque Reduction Neutralization Test (PRNT) technique on serum from your 30 smallpox-vaccinated volunteers aged between 45-74 years.

The two diseases possess certain similarities, which explains why the smallpox shot has been deployed in order to fight monkeypox till a viable bespoke vaccine can be brought to marketplace, he said.

“We have found that 28 associated with trialists had no immunity against monkeypox, although one acquired maintained immunity degree against the disease’s A. 2 variant plus another against each B. 1 as well as a. 2 variants, ” he said.

“However, general results led to the conclusion that the majority of older Thai citizens has no noticeable immunity against monkeypox. ”

However , he insisted that there is no rush to develop a shot because the global rate of infection continues to be so low, along with 50, 327 instances and 15 fatalities in over one hundred countries, since the Entire world Health Organization (WHO) announced it being a Public Health Crisis of International Problem (PHEIC) on This summer 23 this year.

He mentioned the current smallpox vaccine also has some uncomfortable cardiological and nerve side effects which is a concern. However , the first great deal of 1, 000 doses of smallpox shot should still be provided to health workers and individuals with a high risk associated with infections as a preventive measure.

He added that it must be clear that very-close person-to-person skin contact is the major reason for infections, so frequent hand washing and social distancing stay the best practice for the time being.

Thailand has placed an order for 1, 000 doses associated with smallpox vaccine underneath the commercial name of Jynneos vaccine through the United States, which is enough for 500 people. The Department of Disease Control may later make it clear who will receive the shots.

Dr Supakit said that while the National Vaccine Institute plus universities work on an officially recognised turned on formula, a traditional inactivated vaccine would be the smartest choice at the time being.

There have been seven confirmed cases associated with monkeypox in Thailand.