There are enough vaccines against mpox (formerly monkeypox) in the Czech Republic, according to Ondrej Jakob, spokesman for the Czech Health Ministry, speaking yesterday to CTK.
He was responding to a warning from the World Health Organisation (WHO), which has declared a state of public emergency of international importance due to the current epidemic in Africa.
So far, 11 cases of mpox infection have been registered in the Czech Republic this year, according to data from the State Health Institute (SZU), with no new cases in July. In 2022, 71 cases were reported, with over 22,000 cases across Europe. The Czech Health Ministry recommends vaccination before travelling to high-risk African countries.
Epidemiologist Rastislav Madar wrote on social media yesterday that over 37,500 mpox cases and 1,451 deaths had been reported up to the end of July this year, in 15 African countries. The actual number of infected may be significantly higher, he said. The officially reported death rate compared to total number of infections is 3.9%, he said.
“The biggest concern is whether the newly emerging branch of the Ib virus… is also being spread by non-contact airborne transmission,” Madar said. “This would pose a global pandemic threat. This new derivation of the virus has also made a significant impact on the child population that is vulnerable. There are also mild forms of infection that facilitate the spread of the virus.”
Scientists have not yet clearly answered many important questions about the new variant of the virus, so caution is well-founded, he added.
In late June, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) described the risk of the new mpox variant as very low.
People travelling to the 15 African countries where the disease has been reported so far, namely Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Liberia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, and South Africa, should consult a vaccination and travel medicine centre on the suitability of vaccination and other preventive measures, the ministry said.
Vaccination against mpox is available at such centres in most regions in the Czech Republic.
Current recommendations suggest that people who have sex with multiple partners, men who have sex with men, and those taking medication for HIV infection, as well as people who live in a household with a HIV-positive person, should be vaccinated. The vaccine is also given to people who have been in contact with someone infected with mpox.
According to WHO data, during the previous mpox waves, over 90% of those infected were men who have sex with men. For the general population, the risk is assessed as low.
Mpox symptoms include fever, chills, headache, muscle and back pain, and exhaustion, followed by swollen lymph nodes. One to three days after the fever appears, the patient develops a typical chickenpox-like rash, often starting on the face and then spreading to other parts of the body. The illness usually lasts for two to four weeks, and symptoms are mainly treated by medication to prevent fever, pain or allergic reactions.
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
| Number of cases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 0 | 11* |
Source: SZU – ISIN
