Vaccines against monkeypox

The monkeypox virus is a virus that has 90% genomic homology with the human (smallpox), but it is naturally transmitted between different wild animal reservoirs and is considered a zoonosis. Throughout the 20th century, different vaccines based on the vaccinia poxvirus were developed and used for vaccination against smallpox. After the eradication of smallpox, these vaccines were no longer used. Current vaccines against monkeypox virus are classified by the WHO as replicative (ACAM2000), minimally replicative (LC16m8) and non-replicative (MVA-BN), the latter being the one currently used. The 2022 extra-African monkeypox virus epidemic has highlighted the lack of vaccines with proven efficacy and low reactogenicity. It is considered that the use of this vaccine in the current outbreak may play a role in the prevention or attenuation of the disease as pre-exposure prophylaxis in close contacts of confirmed cases.