Jersey has "adequate stocks" of mpox vaccine

Tuesday 20 August 2024

Health officials in Jersey are “closely” monitoring the international outbreak of a disease which claimed the lives of hundreds in Africa – but said there is "no significant cause for concern at this stage”.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently declared that the upsurge of mpox is a "public health emergency of international concern".

Dr Rajesh Hembrom, Jersey's Clinical Lead and Consultant of Integrated Sexual Health, HIV and Viral Hepatitis, confirmed that the island currently has “adequate stocks of the vaccine”.

Pictured: Mpox causes a distinctive rash.

At least 450 have died in an mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the disease subsequently spreading to areas of Central and East Africa, and the first case in Europe being confirmed in Sweden last week.

UK ministers have since met to discuss the UK's preparedness to respond to the disease, with Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty involved in talks this week.

In response questions from Express about whether Jersey would be taking any specific precautionary measures or issuing Public Health guidance, Dr Hembrom said: "There is no significant cause for concern at this stage but the situation is being monitored closely."

He added: "Jersey currently has adequate stocks of the vaccine, and we are awaiting further guidance from UKHSA (UK Health Security Agency).

"We expect this in the coming days."

Pictured: Dr Hembrom is the island's Clinical Lead for Sexual Health.

An initial outbreak of a previous variant was recorded in the UK in 2022, after which a smallpox vaccine – which has efficacy against mpox – was authorised for use in the UK.

In July 2022, islanders were contact-traced and offered vaccinations after a "highly probable case" of monkeypox was identified in Jersey.

The European Union's Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has updated its advice and now recommends that anyone travelling to any of the 16 African countries where the new variant is prevalent should be vaccinated before they go.

Mpox, which was previously known as monkeypox, is transmitted through close contact such as sex, skin-to-skin contact and talking or breathing close to another person.

It causes flu-like symptoms, skin lesions and can be fatal, with four in 100 cases leading to death.

Mpox is most common in the tropical rainforests of West and Central Africa, and there are thousands of infections every year.