SYDNEY, Aug 3 — As monkeypox case numbers rise in Australia, a leading infectious disease specialist has urged the government to prioritise its scarce allocation of vaccines, reported Xinhua.
Writing in The Conversation on Tuesday, Jaya Dantas, professor of Curtin University and dean international in the Faculty of Health Sciences, noted that although there was no specific treatment for the infectious disease, Australia has “secured small supplies of two smallpox vaccines, which provide some protection.”
To date, Australia has confirmed at least 45 cases, mainly within the densely populated states of New South Wales and Victoria, with most being men aged under 40 who have traveled overseas and had had sex with other men.
Aside from members of the gay community, Dantas said vaccines need to be readily available to high-risk groups including sex workers and people visiting destinations such as Central and West Africa, where the disease is most common.
Along with vaccinations, Dantas said it is necessary to have an informed public health campaign about the virus, adding that “it’s absolutely crucial we do this in a way that is not stigmatising” to the victims.
Among the key points are that the disease can be caught even by people without common symptoms, which include fever, headache, fatigue, sweats and chills, coughing and sore throat.
The disease also often causes a painful rash that looks like blisters or pimples with the lesions evolving through several stages before falling off.
Light dressings should be applied to such rashes which usually last from two to four weeks, during which time the patient should remain in isolation.
Although there have been several deaths worldwide in this latest outbreak, most people with healthy immune systems do not have long-term harmful effects.
Dantas said monkeypox does not spread as easily as coronavirus and, as such, believes it can be kept under control, “if we are cautious.”
