Is Monkeypox related to Smallpox?

[question everything]

Most of us - before antivax parents gained notoriety- were vaccinated against smallpox.

[flamingdem]

1. Yes but...

Most of us were vaccinated in the 60s and early 70s. I'm reading it lasts only 5 years. If you had it as a child it may lessen the symptoms.

Would like to see some real data on this. Monkeypox looks like something I'd rather avoid!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. The last smallpox outbreak in this country was 1948.

I've read somewhere that people who had been vaccinated even 50 years earlier were still protected.

[SheltieLover]

5. Yes, but articles I've seen say a booster may be needed

And, of course, there aren't any/many yet.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

11. Perhaps.

Right now, I am at essentially zero risk for getting monkey pox.

[RockRaven]

2. Yes, they are related. Both are in the Orthopoxvirus genus. Neither is the ancestor of the other

but rather they share a common ancestor. The old smallpox vaccine is 85% effective in preventing transmission and/or reducing symptoms (or would be if said vaccinations were current, but people haven't been getting smallpox vaccines for ~4 decades).

[AkFemDem]

3. No most of us were not

And antivax parents have nothing to do with it.

The US stopped inoculating civilians in 1972 after smallpox became eradicated in the US. So anyone age 50 and under doesn’t have it unless they served on active duty during the years it was given post 911.

[question everything]

6. I did not know that! As a bommer I got all the vaccines in the late 40s and 50s

[ShazzieB]

15. Me, too, except I got them in the 50s and 60s.

Had to get them to start school (1956), and booster right before starting high school. Last one for smallpox was 58 years ago.

[Effete Snob]

9. ...or people who engaged in certain foreign travel after 1972

Up to around 1981, it was still being used as a recommended vaccine for certain international travel.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8837496/

[ShazamIam]

7. Same family of virus as small pox, but less severe, here is link to the CDC guidance on Monkeypox,

https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/about.html

Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus. Monkeypox virus is part of the same family of viruses as variola virus, the virus that causes smallpox. Monkeypox symptoms are similar to smallpox symptoms, but milder, and monkeypox is rarely fatal. Monkeypox is not related to chickenpox.

Monkeypox was discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research. Despite being named “monkeypox,” the source of the disease remains unknown. However, African rodents and non-human primates (like monkeys) might harbor the virus and infect people.

The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970. Prior to the 2022 outbreak, monkeypox had been reported in people in several central and western African countries. Previously, almost all monkeypox cases in people outside of Africa were linked to international travel to countries where the disease commonly occurs or through imported animals. These cases occurred on multiple continents.

[question everything]

8. Thank you for the information. Thus, so far there is no need for mass vaccination?

[ShazamIam]

10. Your welcome, I had been meaning to get clear on it for myself. I do agree with the, "emergency,"

designations by some states and Biden, mostly for stopping the idea that it is out of control. That seems contradictory but our brains are strange things, the emergency declarations signal that it won't be allowed to grow out of control or something and add pressure for more vaccine availability.

[philipcorndive]

12. Monkeypox

Monkeypox vs. smallpox

Smallpox and monkeypox are both part of the orthopoxvirus family, so they’re caused by similar but distinct viruses. Thanks to effective vaccines, smallpox was eradicated (is no longer a circulating disease) by 1980. Smallpox was very contagious and spread more easily than monkeypox. Monkeypox symptoms are similar to smallpox, but milder.

[womanofthehills]

13. Lots of studies claim smallpox shots last a lifetime

Adults like yourself who received the smallpox vaccine during the nationwide program that was in effect from the late 1940s until 1972 are believed to have continuing immunity. This includes members of the U.S. military, who continued to receive smallpox vaccinations until 1991.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that, based on past data collected in Africa, the smallpox vaccine is at least 85% effective in preventing monkeypox. However, since this situation is so new, the precise degree of protection is not known. Researchers say that while older adults who have been vaccinated against smallpox may be susceptible to monkeypox infection, they are likely to experience only mild symptoms. The data show that the majority of healthy adults who become infected do not become severely ill. And to your question about smallpox boosters, no, they are not available. https://connect.uclahealth.org/2022/07/25/adults-with-smallpox-vaccine-may-have-immunity-from-monkeypox/