Monkeypox is not COVID kind of virus so there is no need for any alarm over the cases surfacing in different parts of the country. It is also “less infectious, does not spread in the air and only close proximity for a prolonged period, skin to skin contact or exchange of body fluids could lead to the infection,” said Dr. Rakesh Mishra, noted scientist and director of Tata Institute for Genetics & Society (TIGS), Bengaluru.
Smallpox vaccine can protect people from getting monkeypox, as viruses causing these disease are closely related. There are at present two FDA approved vaccines for monkeypox. While there is no approved treatments for monkeypox, the antiviral drugs used for small pox are likely to be useful here too. Also, prior infection to smallpox or vaccination, which was discontinued in 1978, will offer protection against monkeypox, he explains.
Dr. Mishra, also the former CSIR-Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) director, and continues to work in his lab here, said the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been right in declaring it as an “emergency” as the virus outbreak was noticed in 75 countries. The spread could be because of stress on the environment where animals and humans are “getting closer” and more travel by people. “It is better to be prudent and keep track of the cases to check for any sudden spike,” he avers.
