BHU professor: Chickenpox vaccine could help

(MENAFN-IANS) New Delhi, Aug 28 (IANS) – A vaccine against chickenpox may be effective against Mpox, the infectious disease causing a deadly outbreak in Africa, according to a professor at Banaras Hindu University (BHU).

Speaking to IANS, Dr Gopal Nath of the Department of Microbiology, BHU claimed that chickenpox vaccine could be effective as the symptoms of both the diseases are similar.

“Most of the symptoms of Mpox disease are similar to those of chickenpox. Therefore, it can be assumed that the vaccine against chickenpox administered in the 1980s is very effective,” he said.

At least 14 countries in Africa are currently suffering from a deadly outbreak of smallpox, caused primarily by the more contagious clade Ib disease, leading the World Health Organization (WHO) to recently declare the disease a global health emergency.

Outside Africa, clade Ib has caused infections in Sweden and Thailand, where one case has been reported in each.

On Monday, WHO also launched a global strategic preparedness and response plan for Mpox to end human-to-human transmission.

The spread has been called another pandemic, similar to Covid-19. However, Nath disagreed, stating that it is not as transmissible as SARS-COV-2, the virus behind Covid.

“Compared to coronavirus, Mpox is not very dangerous. Coronavirus was able to spread much faster,” the professor told IANS, noting that “India is on high alert regarding the growing threat of Mpox.”

“Our team at the health department is also on high alert.”

Meanwhile, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has approved its own RT-PCR test for the deadly infectious disease that delivers results in just 40 minutes. Siemens Healthineers' novel test can deliver results much faster than conventional methods (which take 1-2 hours). This can help reduce report turnaround time and enable faster responses.

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