WHO approves vaccine for emergency use in children

The World Health Organization (WHO) approved the vaccine LC16m8 to the list of medicines for emergency use, making it the second immunizer approved by the Organization for the control and prevention of mpox. This decision comes at a critical time, as the disease was recently classified as a new global emergency.

The urgency is due to the rapid spread of the 1B variant of the virus, which is more contagious and has already been detected in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as in several countries in Africa, Asia and Europe.

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_{WHO approves emergency use vaccine for mpox (Photo: reproduction/Getty Images Embed/Anadolu)}

Children are more susceptible to the virus

The director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on his social networks that the LC16m8 vaccine is the first approved for use in children under one year old who live in areas where there are outbreaks of the virus. According to him, this is an important step to protect the most vulnerable populations around the world.

In new reports, the WHO indicates that by 2024, cases of mpox have been recorded in at least 80 countries, including 19 nations in Africa. The situation is even more worrying in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where more than half of diagnosed cases involve children under 12 years of age.

The organization's director general also highlighted that outbreaks of the disease are intensifying in Burundi and Uganda. In order to discuss the global mpox situation, an emergency committee meeting was scheduled for Friday (22).

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_{WHO approves emergency use vaccine for mpox (Photo: reproduction/Getty Images Embed/David Talukdar)}

What is mpox?

Previously called monkeypox, mpox had its name changed by the WHO at the end of 2022. The disease is classified as a virus that causes lesions on the skin, especially on the face, but can also spread to other areas of the body, including the genital region. Symptoms associated with the disease include fever, fatigue and body aches.

The first discovery of the virus occurred in the late 1950s. Since then, there has been evidence that the virus has mutated, especially in the last three to four years, facilitating transmission between humans. Despite the increase in mutations and transmission rate, more than half of the variants identified between 2018 and 2022 are considered silent, as they do not result in changes that help the virus evade the immune system's defenses.

Transmission of mpox requires close and prolonged physical contact. As with other viruses, including Covid-19, the severity of the infection can vary depending on the age and health condition of the affected individual.

Featured photo: Nísia Trindrade, Minister of Health, speaks during the installation of the Health Emergency Operations Center to coordinate response actions to mpox (Reproduction/Agência Brasil/José Cruz)