The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has approved a smallpox vaccine to extend its use against the spread of monkeypox, it announced on Friday.
The medicine has been approved in the EU since 2013 for the prevention of smallpox, and contains a weakened form of the vaccinia virus called "modified vaccinia virus Ankara."
"EMA’s human medicines committee (CHMP) has recommended extending the indication of the smallpox vaccine Imvanex to include protecting adults from monkeypox disease," the agency said in a press release.
The vaccine was approved against monkeypox because of the similarity between the monkeypox virus and the smallpox virus.
WHO is 'concerned'
On Thursday, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that he was "concerned" about the rising number of monkeypox cases and asked experts for advice.
According to the latest and most up-to-date figures from the US health authorities (CDC), the situation has worsened in recent weeks, with more than 15,300 cases detected in 71 countries – over 220 of them in Belgium.
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First detected in humans in 1970, the monkeypox virus is less dangerous and contagious than its cousin smallpox, which was eradicated in 1980.
The first symptom of a monkeypox infection usually is a high fever, which quickly develops into a rash with crusting. Mostly benign, it usually heals spontaneously after two to three weeks.
