BELGOROD, May 21. /TASS/. Some Russians are immune to monkeypox thanks to the mandatory smallpox vaccination carried out in the Soviet Union until 1980, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko told reporters on Saturday.
"The smallpox vaccination was mandatory before 1980, so we have a certain pool of immune population," he said during his work trip to Belgorod.
The minister pointed out that monkeypox is similar to respiratory infections in terms of transmission and symptoms, but skin manifestations are a distinctive feature.
"Russia has diagnosticums, which were registered in 2017, so it is not difficult to make a diagnosis both clinically and in laboratories," he said adding that test systems were among them.
About the disease
Monkeypox is a rare viral disease mainly transmitted to humans by contact with infected wild animals (rodents or primates). The human-to-human transmission is limited, as it requires close contact. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain, backache, swelling in the lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. It may be followed by a rash on the face and body.
The WHO says that mortality rates from the monkeypox outbreaks had been usually from 1% to 10%, though most fatalities were recorded in younger age groups. There is no specific treatment or a vaccine for monkeypox, but the vaccines previously used to eradicate smallpox provide highly effective protection against this disease.
The monkeypox virus, which spread in some Western European countries in April and May, has also been detected on other continents. Overall, at least 11 countries, namely Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States, have recently reported cases of monkeypox.