Spain is preparing to place an order for thousands of doses of a vaccine that protects against monkeypox after health authorities in the country identified seven cases of the viral disease according to a new report from Newsweek.
Confirmed and suspected cases of monkeypox, the smallpox-like virus that spreads through contact with an infected animal or human, have cropped up around the world this month. In Europe, nine cases of monkeypox were confirmed in the United Kingdom, 14 in Portugal. At least 13 cases are being investigated in Canada, and the first U.S. case of monkeypox was confirmed in Massachusetts on Wednesday.
While seven cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in Spain, health authorities suspect the count could actually be 25, according to the Spanish newspaper El País. As such, the country is reported to be finalizing the order of thousands of vaccines capable of protecting people against monkeypox. The vaccine in question is known by the brand names Imvanex and Jynneos, and is made by the biotechnology company Bavarian Nordic.
Since the first monkeypox case in the current outbreak was reported in England on May 7 from a person who had traveled from Nigeria, more than 20 cases have been confirmed across England, Portugal, and Spain. More cases are under investigation.
Massachusetts officials on Wednesday also confirmed the first monkeypox case in the U.S. this year from an adult male who had recently traveled to Canada. Officials in Montreal are investigating up to 13 potential cases.
Monkeypox is an infectious disease that can cause a severe rash, fever, headache, muscle aches, and swollen lymph nodes. Data have suggested that smallpox vaccines like Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos are at least 85% effective at preventing monkeypox before exposure, according to the CDC. Experts believe that post-exposure vaccination could also either prevent or reduce symptoms, the agency says on its website.
Health officials have yet to pinpoint exactly when and where the virus emerged. But “the speed of which these have evolved, combined with the potential for infections beyond the initial case going undetected, calls for a rapid and coordinated approach by the health authorities,” Bavarian Nordic CEO Paul Chaplin said in a statement.
The outbreaks come as Bavarian Nordic is in the process of rolling out a freeze-dried version of Jynneos to the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS’) Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) for the Strategic National Stockpile.
