American research recently indicated that treatments and vaccines would be of little effectiveness against monkeypox mutations. Explanations.
- As of November 1, 4,097 cases of monkeypox have been recorded in France, according to Public Health France.
- Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis that mainly causes fever, rashes and swollen lymph nodes.
On May 20, 2022, the High Authority for Health (HAS) recommended vaccination against monkeypox post-exposure, in other words for people who have been in close contact with an infected patient. In July, the organization had also recommended the use of this serum as a preventive measure in individuals most exposed to the virus.
The virus is able to evade therapeutic responses from treatments
In a recent study published in the Journal of Autoimmunity, researchers at the University of Missouri (USA) have observed that specific mutations in the monkeypox virus could render treatments and vaccines ineffective.
To reach this conclusion Kamlendra Singh, a professor at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine and a researcher at the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, examined the DNA sequences of 200 strains of the smallpox virus. monkey over several decades: 1965, when the virus began to spread, to the epidemics of the 2000s and those of 2022. During this study, the researcher collaborated with Shrikesh Sachdev, Shree Lekha Kandasamy and Saathvik Kannan, students at Hickman High School.
During the research, Shree Lekha Kandasamy and Saathvik Kannan observed five proteins when analyzing strains of the MonkeyPox virus: DNA polymerase, DNA helicase, A22R bridging protein, DNA glycosylase and G9R. Scientists have also pinpointed the specific mutations that contribute to the permanent infectiousness of monkeypox.
The effectiveness of treatments and vaccines is suboptimal against Monkeypox
“By performing a temporal analysis, we were able to see how the virus evolved over time. One of the main findings is that the virus is now accumulating mutations specifically where drugs and vaccine antibodies are supposed to attach ( …) The virus has become more intelligent. It is able to avoid being targeted by drugs or antibodies provided by the body’s immune response and continue to spread.”said Kamlendra Singh.
In the United States, monkeypox vaccines approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were originally designed to treat HIV and herpes. However, their effectiveness has been shown to be suboptimal compared to Monkeypox.
“One hypothesis is that when patients were treated for HIV and herpes with these drugs, they may also have been infected with the smallpox virus without knowing it. It is possible that the smallpox virus has become smarter and mutated to evade drugs (…) Another hypothesis is that the monkeypox virus could hijack the proteins we have in our body and use them to become more infectious and pathogenic”underlined Kamlendra Singh.
