Browsing by Author "Jin Shihui,"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Vaccination strategies to achieve outbreak control for MPXV Clade I with a one-time mass campaign in sub-Saharan Africa: A scenario-based modelling study
    (PLOS Medicine, 2025-09) Jin Shihui,; Et al.
    Author summary Why was this study done? • The newly-emergent Clade Ib monkeypox virus (MPXV) can spread more easily between people compared to the previous Clade Ia MPXV, and can be transmitted through both sexual and non-sexual contacts. • Immunity from historical smallpox vaccination, which also offered protection against monkeypox, is waning with the ageing of the vaccinated population, increasing the risk of outbreaks in African countries. • While some countries in Africa began to receive mpox vaccine donations in late 2024, few studies have explored how mpox vaccination could be carried out in Africa, especially for one-time campaigns across sub-Saharan African countries at different time points. What did the researchers do and find? • We provided the first assessment of mpox vaccine demand for one-time mass vaccination across sub-Saharan Africa based on transmissibility projections up to year 2050, adjusted for the diminishing smallpox-immunised population. • The results suggested that as sexual transmission of Clade I MPXV becomes more prevalent, greater vaccination coverage and age-specific targeting would be needed. • We also found that prioritising high-risk age groups, such as children under 5 years and young adults aged 20–29 years, could reduce disease spread more effectively than distributing vaccines evenly across multiple age groups. What do these findings mean? • With increasing Clade I MPXV transmission potential over time and persistent risk of outbreaks, planning one-time mass vaccination campaigns can support effective responses, especially when supplies are limited and multiple countries are affected. • Where increasing sexual transmission is determined, vaccination strategies should adapt by shifting the priority from young children aged under 5 years to adults aged 20–29 years, which would also requires substantially greater minimum vaccination coverage to successfully control outbreaks. • These recommendations were based on information available about how Clade I MPXV was spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo up to December 2024.