LONDON (AP) – British health officials will start offering vaccines to some men who have sex with men and are at higher risk of contracting smallpox, in an effort to curb the biggest outbreak of the disease beyond ‘Africa.
Doctors may consider vaccinating some men at the highest risk of exposure, the British health security agency said in a statement on Tuesday. The agency identified those most at risk as men who have sex with men and have multiple partners, engage in group sex, or attend places where sex takes place on the premises.
“By expanding the supply of vaccines to people at higher risk, we hope to break the chains of transmission and help contain the outbreak,” said the head of immunization at the Health Security Agency, Dr. Mary Ramsay.
Last month, a senior adviser to the World Health Organization said the smallpox outbreak beyond Africa was likely to be spread by the sexual activity of radish men in Spain and Belgium.
Previously, vaccines were only available for health care workers who treat smallpox patients or for cleaners who disinfect areas contaminated with the virus. The vaccine was originally developed for smallpox, a related disease, but is thought to be about 85% effective against monkeypox.
To date, more than 99% of cases of smallpox in Britain are found among men, and most of them are found in gay, bisexual or male sex. Scientists warn that anyone who is in close physical contact with someone infected with smallpox or their clothing or sheets is at risk for the disease, regardless of their sexual orientation.
There are currently 793 cases of smallpox in the UK, out of more than 2,100 cases in 42 countries around the world. No deaths have been reported outside Africa.
Until last month, smallpox had only caused major outbreaks in Central and West Africa; The continent has so far reported more than 1,500 cases and 72 suspected deaths in an independent epidemic. Vaccines have never been used in Africa to control monkeypox.
Last week, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the continued spread of monkeypox in countries that had not seen the disease as “unusual and worrying”.
Tedros convenes an expert meeting on Thursday to decide whether the expansion of the monkeypox outbreak justifies a global emergency. This would give it the same designation as the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing effort to eradicate polio.
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