Brazil Allows Use Of Foreign Monkeypox Treatments Without Registration - Anvisa

MEXICO CITY (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th August, 2022) The Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) says it has decided not to require registration for vaccines or treatments against monkeypox imported from other countries.

The "exceptional and temporary" decision, made on Friday, allows Brazil's Ministry of Health to ask Anvisa to automatically register drugs and vaccines that have already been approved for the prevention or treatment of monkeypox by international authorities, Anvisa said in a statement.

The international organizations the approval of which will be accepted by Brazil include the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), US food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), among others.

In July, WHO Director-General Ghebreyesus announced that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern.

Most people usually recover from monkeypox within a few weeks without treatment.

The symptoms are initially flu-like, such as fever, chills, and swollen lymph nodes, which are then followed by a widespread rash. According to the WHO, the disease can be more severe in young children, pregnant women, and individuals who are immunocompromised.

The monkeypox virus is not easily transmitted and usually spreads through close physical contact, including sexual contact, with an infected individual. The virus can enter the human body through broken skin, the respiratory tract, eyes, nose and mouth, and via bodily fluids. Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease (spread between animals and people). It originates in animals like rodents and primates and occurs in remote parts of Central and West Africa.

Over 35,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported worldwide across over 90 countries and territories, and so far, 12 deaths have been attributed to the disease.