Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : August 27, 2022 2:31 PM IST
It is another disease we can recall if we are old enough to have survived the disease. So these are a few examples where vaccinations have made a real contribution to the world.
The monkeypox outbreak was declared a global health emergency in July this year by the World Health Organization (WHO). So far, more than 41,000 monkeypox cases have been confirmed from 96 countries, with the US reporting the highest number, followed by Spain, Brazil and Germany. The report, however, indicated a drop in new cases last week and it contributed this decline to "a combination of effective public health measures, behavior change and vaccination." Currently, vaccines and drugs used to prevent or treat smallpox are being used to tackle monkeypox infections.
Meanwhile, researchers at the University of California - Davis Health have suggested that Tecovirimat (TPOXX) may be a safe and effective treatment for monkeypox infections. It is an antiviral drug approved by the US FDA for the treatment of smallpox. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had recently authorized use of tecovirimat to treat people with orthopoxvirus infections, including monkeypox, on a compassionate use basis.
In a UC Davis Health study, tecovirimat therapy was given to 25 patients with monkeypox. Their research report, published in JAMA, concluded that tecovirimat appears to be safe and effective for the treatment of monkeypox symptoms and skin lesions.
In most cases of monkeypox infections, symptoms resolve on their own in 2-4 weeks, but some patients may require hospitalization. Symptoms associated with monkeypox include painful skin lesions, fever, fatigue, sore throat, chills, backache, muscle pain, nausea and diarrhea.
In this study, oral tecovirimat treatment was given 25 monkeypox patients who had skin lesions in multiple body parts, including the face and genital region. The patients were admitted to UC Davis Medical Center between June 3 and August 13, 2022. The drug was given to them every 8 or 12 hours, within 30 minutes of a high-fat meal.
As per the research paper, the tecovirimat therapy continued for two weeks, and all patients tolerated their treatment well. About 40 per cent of patients were healed from their lesions by day 7, and by day 21, 92 per cent of them were pain-free.
Reported side effects associated with the therapy included fatigue, headache, nausea, itching and diarrhea.
