Mpox vaccine available on demand for troops as infections trigger travel warning

The Defense Health Agency and military services are working to make the MPOX vaccine available to people at risk of contracting the virus, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended travelers to parts of Africa get immunized.

The federal agency issued an advisory last month recommending that travelers to Central and East Africa who may be at risk — especially those who have sexual contact with men — receive the two-dose vaccine.

During a 2022 outbreak, 146 military health care system beneficiaries, including 118 active-duty personnel, had confirmed or suspected cases, according to the Defense Health Agency’s September Medical Surveillance Monthly Report.

The majority of active-duty service members — nearly 90% — who contracted the virus got it in the U.S., and most were stationed in California, Virginia or Maryland. The Army And Navy Together, they accounted for almost 80% of cases, mainly affecting enlisted personnel aged 20 to 34, according to the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division.

The virus, formerly known as monkeypox, is related to smallpox and typically causes symptoms such as fever and headache, but can result in painful blisters and life-threatening conditions.

To protect against new cases both at home and on the road, the Defense Health Agency and the services have made the Ankara-Bavarian Nordic vaccine, a third-generation smallpox vaccine, available in military health facilities and through the Tricare health program.

According to the Navy and the Air Forcethe vaccine is not mandatory for troops deployed to Africa, but has been made available upon request to those who want it.

The military did not respond by publication to a request for information.

“When the US declared MPox a national public health emergency, the Air Force worked with DHA to ensure the vaccine was available to Airmen and Guardians on demand,” an Air Force official told Military.com in an email -mail.

“Navy personnel traveling overseas will receive a health consultation to assess risks associated with health threats in the area and may be given medication or a vaccine may be available to help prevent or reduce the severity of mpox infections, especially for people at high risk of serious infection,” Navy Bureau of Medicine spokeswoman Cmdr. Jessica McNulty said in an Oct. 24 email.

Those considered at high risk of contracting the virus include people who are in close contact with an infected individual, with close contact being defined as skin-to-skin contact, including kissing. Most of those affected are gay or bisexual men, and anyone who has sex with multiple partners is at high risk, according to the World Health Organization.

According to the CDC, the 2022-2023 MPox outbreak in the US sickened more than 34,000 people and killed 63. Epidemiologists from the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division said the impact in the US military may have been lower due to an effective vaccine campaign targeted at at-risk service members.

“It has been posited that effective targeting of pre- and post-exposure vaccine prophylaxis campaigns to the MSM population, along with reduced high-risk sexual activity resulting from awareness campaigns by Defense Health Agency personnel, may have contributed to the significant decline in number of soldiers. beneficiary cases of the health care system,” they wrote.

They added that they reviewed cases from the military health care system to help military leadership and the medical community anticipate the disease’s effect on readiness and develop prevention and mitigation strategies.

The current surge in Africa and elsewhere has been driven largely by a new strain of the virus, which is bringing the disease to previously unaffected areas. There have been nearly 45,000 suspected or confirmed cases in 17 countries this year, according to the World Health Organization.

The CDC has issued a travel alert for the Democratic Republic of Congo, where more than 21,000 cases have been reported, as well as Burundi, Central African Republic, Rwanda and Uganda, recommending that doctors discuss prevention and awareness with patients planning to travel to these countries.

McNulty noted that while vaccine is in short supply, supplies are increasing, and personnel at risk or deployed to affected countries should work with their military treatment facility or the Navy Environmental Preventive Medicine Unit to assess their compliance with the criteria for obtaining the vaccination. immunization.

“Given the evolving nature of monkeypox outbreaks, MTF providers should review the latest CDC information on monkeypox,” she wrote.

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