Smallpox Vaccines OK'd For Monkeypox Cases

Investigators Scrutinize Exotic Pets For Disease
Posted: 10:31 a.m. EDT June 11, 2003
Updated: 5:28 p.m. EDT June 11, 2003

Federal health authorities say people in close contact with monkeypox patients can get smallpox vaccine.

Monkeypox is a milder relative of smallpox. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the smallpox vaccine can protect against the possibility of contracting monkeypox. The agency says people can be vaccinated up to 14 days after exposure.

The CDC also recommends the vaccine for people who have been around animals confirmed to have monkeypox.
Monkeypox infection has been linked to contact with pet U.S. prairie dogs that have been linked in turn to contact with a Gambian rat from Africa.

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