UFMG – Federal University of Minas Gerais

UFMG is promoting, this Thursday, the 29th, another conference for The future, that wordCelebrating the 95th anniversary of the university with the subject Monkey pox: what do we know? The webinar will bring together Professors Erna Jessian Kron and Flavio Guimarães da Fonseca, members Pox-MCTI Temporary Technical Chamber, and Unaí Tupinambás, an epidemiologist at the Faculty of Medicine. The activity will be carried out in the lecture hall, with Broadcast on UFMG YouTube channel.

a monkeypox virus It is the causative agent of monkeypox. It belongs to the same family as the smallpox virus, discovered in 1958. The first case was recorded in humans in 1970, with clinical manifestations similar to human smallpox, but less serious.

According to Professor Erna Crone, who will make monkeypox history in the world, the virus is very resistant, which favors its transmission. “The infection is characterized by symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, fatigue, skin lesions and inflammation of the lymph nodes. It can be transmitted by direct contact with respiratory secretions, skin lesions, body fluids and contaminated objects.

The first case of the disease was recorded this year in March, in the United Kingdom. Since then, 61,173 people from 105 countries have been infected, resulting in 23 deaths, two in Brazil, According to the Bulletin of the World Health Organization issued on September 21.

Also according to WHO data, the outbreak still affects mainly young people, with 97.4% (31,295 out of 32,125) of cases with an average age of 35 years. Of the reported cases of sexual orientation, 90.9% (13940 out of 15339) identified as LGBT.

For the epidemiologist and professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Unaí Tupinambás, “Initially, this is one of the public [jovens homossexuais] which should have priority for vaccination in Brazil, together with health workers.” At the conference, the doctor will address the epidemiological scenario, the clinical picture of the disease, prevention and care measures.

national vaccine
As for the vaccine, the UFMG’s CTVacinas is already developing standards for immune factor development Similar to Jynneos/Imvanex, of Bavarian Nordic A/S. Bio-Manguinhos will be responsible for producing the vaccine, whose “seeds” — two vials of the Modified Ankara Virus Vaccine (MVA) — have been donated by the US Medical Research Agency, Institutes The National Health Organization (NIH), through a clinical material transfer agreement signed with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) Virus Network.

During his presentation, Flávio da Fonseca will address the principle that supports vaccine protection in this group of viruses and address the UFMG procedures intended for agent study through the project Scientific aspects of the outbreak of monkeypox virus (monkeypox) in Brazil, which has just received R$2.964 million in funding approved by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI). Over the next 24 months, the money will be used to fund scholarships and to acquire research supplies against the new disease.

Among the research fronts in the project are the biological characterization of the monkeypox virus that circulates in Brazil and serological studies in the circulation areas of other orthopoxviruses, a family of which the virus is a part. The researchers will also work to monitor the introduction of the virus into wild and domestic animals – mainly animals with positive teachers. This line of research aims to understand the ecological and epidemiological characteristics of the virus in different animal species, the interrelationships between the biology and ecology of the host, as well as to indicate the spread and diversity of the virus.

The event will be inaugurated by Dean Sandra Regina Goulart-Almeida, and the mediation will be responsible for the Deputy Director of the College of Medicine, Cristina Alvim.

Even on the eve of the event, the public can send questions to the e-mail [email protected]. They will be answered during the conference.