Monkey pox: HAS recommends vaccinating “contact cases”

(updated with details)

PARIS, May 24 (Reuters) – The High Authority for Health (HAS) announced on Tuesday that it recommends vaccinating adults who have been in contact with a person infected with monkeypox, including health professionals.

Seized by the General Directorate of Health (DGS) after the appearance of cases of monkey pox (“Monkeypox”) in several countries, and the confirmation of three cases in France, the HAS recommends the exclusive use of the third generation vaccine , more effective and better tolerated.

“HAS recommends today the implementation of a reactive vaccination strategy, that is to say around a confirmed case: adults whose contact with an infected person is considered to be at risk, including health professionals exposed without personal protective measures,” she said in a statement.

The HAS adds that this strategy “seems relevant in view of the incubation times of the disease often between 6 and 16 days”, and in view of the vaccination strategy adopted in other European countries.

Santé Publique France confirmed in a press release on Monday that three cases of monkey pox had been identified in France, a viral disease which has so far been observed mainly in central and western Africa.

The virus was first discovered in monkeys in 1958, hence its name.

The World Health Organization (WHO) clarified on Tuesday that the epidemic, which intrigues scientists, remains at present “controllable”. (Written by Tangi Salaün, edited by Bertrand Boucey)