JAKARTA - Australia declared monkeypox a nationally significant infectious disease incidence, updating guidelines on who should be immunized before a newer vaccine becomes available.
On Thursday the chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, revealed that there have been 44 cases of the disease in Australia, mostly in returning international travelers, people aged 21 to 40 and men who have sex with men.
Following a declaration by the World Health Organization in early July that monkeypox was a public health emergency of international concern, Australia declared it a national infectious disease incident.
The declaration means the response to monkeypox will have national coordination, to help states and territories with the outbreak, reports The Guardian July 28.
Meanwhile, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (Atagi) also updated its clinical guidance on monkeypox vaccination, to include the use of an MVA-BN vaccine called Jynneos to prepare supplies arriving in Australia.
"Limited supplies (MVA-BN Jynneos) have been secured by the commonwealth and several states and territories," he said. It is unclear whether this supply has arrived in Australia, where demand is high globally.
Separately, Health Minister Mark Butler told Guardian Australia earlier this week, the federal government had "actively pursued the supply of the third generation MVA-BN vaccine long before the WHO declaration was made, recognizing there was limited supply and significant global demand".
Health stakeholders believe that the announcement of a supply deal for new vaccinations is imminent.
Heath Paynter, deputy chief executive of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organizations, said the government needed to "implement policies to contain the virus and prevent it from becoming endemic".
"The fundamental thing for this is getting a supply of vaccines for gay and bisexual men who are at risk for monkeypox," he told Guardian Australia.
“We hope that the government will procure and supply MVA-BN, which is the only safe and effective vaccine. This is the only acceptable option,” he explained, calling the ACAM2000 inferior.
“Australia has a golden opportunity to step in and stop monkeypox, but it can quickly evaporate, and once it does, it's gone, as we have seen in Montreal, London, New York and Madrid, cities with hundreds of cases of community transmission. , "he said.
Kelly said since May the Department of Health has been working with at-risk communities, states and territories to ensure "our response to MPX (monkeypox) has been swift and coordinated".
The national medical reserve has available stocks of monkeypox treatments, such as antivirals, for states and territories to access upon request, he said.
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