Previous Smallpox Vaccine Provides Immunity to Mpox
Published:20 Jun.2023 Source:Karolinska Institutet
Vaccines against smallpox given until the mid-1970s offer continuing cross-reactive immunity to mpox (previously known as monkeypox), researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden report in a study published in the scientific journal Cell Host & Microbe.
By analysing the T-cell immune response in 105 healthy blood donors, the researchers were able to show that individuals born before 1976 had a significantly stronger immune response against both viral types. The researchers also analysed the immune response in 22 men with a recent mpox infection and showed that they also exhibited a strong immune response to the virus, which may provide future immunity.
The current study was too small to judge how much protection previous smallpox vaccination provides, but Dr. Buggert refers to a recently published British observational study examining the effect of a smallpox vaccine given to risk-group males in 2022. This study shows that smallpox vaccine can provide about 80 percent protection against mpox.