MOSCOW, July 12. /TASS/. There are no grounds to fear monkeypox outbreaks in Russia, since in case any serious mutations of the virus are detected a large-scale vaccination campaign will be organized, immunologist Dr. Vladislav Zhemchugov, a specialist in especially dangerous infections, told TASS on Tuesday.
"There are no grounds for fear. This virus is of no hazard for people. <…> If a serious mutation of the virus is detected, we will be told that we have a effective vaccine. So, there are no grounds for worries," he said.
According to Zehmchugov, no categories of the population are especially vulnerable to the disease. "There are no categories. We know that those vaccinated against smallpox, those born before 1980 are non-infectible. And the rest are in equal conditions," he noted.
Russia’s sanitary watchdog said earlier that the first monkeypox case has been confirmed in Russia. The patient is a man who returned from Europe. According to the watchdog, the man has a mild form of the disease.
Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease transmitted to humans through close contact with an infected person or animal (rodents, primate) or with material contaminated with the virus. It symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pains, swollen lymph nodes, feeling tired, and rash. The incubation period is around ten days and the symptoms typically last from two to four weeks. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the case fatality ratio ranges from one to ten percent, with the majority of deaths occurring in younger age groups.