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COPYRIGHT 2003 International Medical News Group
Persons who've had close or intimate contact with symptomatic individuals or animals confirmed to have monkeypox should receive the smallpox vaccine, ideally within 4 days of exposure.
That recommendation, issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in mid-June, extends to pregnant women, as the benefits of vaccination in these circumstances appear to outweigh the risks, the agency said.
Monkeypox has government officials on edge, even though the virus seems to be less contagious than other viral diseases such as measles and smallpox, and it appears that human populations alone cannot sustain transmission. The problem is that there's no telling what can happen when a virus enters a new environment.
"We're always very concerned with any new infection," said Dr. Stephen M. Ostroff, deputy director...
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