AS CASES of Monkey Pox continue to be detected in countries across the globe, chief medical officer Dr Simone Keizer-Beache is urging Vincentians to pay attention to information provided by reliable sources.

Monkey Pox, according to the World Health Organisation, is a virus transmitted to humans from animals with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, though it is said to be clinically less severe.

“The MMR vaccine we received [as children] does not protect us against monkey pox. The small pox vaccine, last given more than 40 years ago in some countries, offers some protection against infection with the monkey pox virus,” Keizer-Beache told SEARCHLIGHT this week when asked if the MMR vaccine provides any protection against this virus.

Monkey Pox is endemic to several counties on the African continent, including Benin, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana (identified in animals only), Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan.

But as of May 21, more than 90 laboratory confirmed cases and almost 30 suspected cases of Monkey Pox with ongoing investigations, have been reported to WHO from 12 member states that are not endemic for the Monkey pox virus.

To date, the virus has not been detected in the Caribbean region and cases that have been reported so far have no established travel links to endemic areas.