Monkeypox cases soar in Victoria with increase in local transmission but state short on vaccine supplies

Local transmission of monkeypox is soaring in Victoria with about half of cases now locally acquired, but worryingly the state is low on vaccine to slow the spread.

A surge in local transmission of monkeypox has led to 40 cases of the viral disease being recorded across the state.

It comes as it’s revealed vaccine doses to slow the spread are in short supply.

Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said, in what he billed as an “important update on monkeypox in Melbourne”, there were more vaccine doses coming soon.

“Transmission is skin-to-skin but we owe it to gay and bisexual men to inform them where the risk is now and to support reducing risk,” he said

“Vaccines are currently in short supply but many more doses (are) on the way.”

Victoria’s Deputy chief health officer of communicable diseases Deborah Friedman said while many Australian cases acquired their infection overseas, the number of people diagnosed with monkeypox in Victoria was increasing due to local transmission.

A patient shows his hand with a sore caused by an infection of the monkeypox virus. Picture: AFP

“The department is closely monitoring cases and contacts to prevent further spread in the community and is encouraging people who may be at risk to take preventative measures such as limiting sexual partners, exchanging contact information with sexual partners in case it is required for contact tracing and getting vaccinated if they are eligible,” she said.

The current outbreak has mostly impacted men who have sex with men, but the Health Department said anyone who had been in intimate contact with someone with monkeypox was at risk.

A handful of the 40 current cases had required hospital treatment, with the Melbourne outbreak accelerating in recent weeks, Assoc Prof Friedman said.

“Towards the end of July, we saw a substantial increase in the number of new cases . . . prior to that, we were having sometimes one case a week or just a couple of cases a week,’’ she said.

Victoria’s health department is conducting modelling on the future trend of case numbers.

And the outbreak has already prompted the cancellation of some events, including the ADAM nudist pub night at Sircuit Bar in Fitzroy.

Assoc Prof Friedman confirmed Victoria was expecting another 20,000 vaccine doses next month.

“Ideally we would like to have the availability of substantially larger amounts of vaccine in Victoria,’’ she said.

“We’re really keen to get our next supply. And that has the capacity to make an enormous difference to this outbreak.’’

Victoria now has 3500 doses of the newer third-generation smallpox vaccine, with most available at sexual health clinics.

Most of Victoria’s outbreak has been locally transmitted, unlike in New South Wales where the majority of cases have returned from overseas.

Assoc Prof Friedman said it was important not to stigmatise any section of the community.

“Monkeypox can occur in any person, and it spreads through close and often intimate contact and that can occur through anybody, with anyone else.

“We just happen to be seeing it in gay and bisexual men, but it could very easily happen in people who are not having sexual contact but having close intimate contact. It could also occur in the heterosexual population,” she said.

About 80 cases have been confirmed nationally.

About 35 per cent of global monkeypox cases are in the United States, with the Center for Disease Control confirming another 480 new cases, bringing the national total to 14,595.

It comes as Prof Sutton criticised Australia’s former deputy chief health officer Dr Nick Coatsworth over his claim the Covid Omicron variant was “clearly not” more dangerous than the seasonal flu.

Victorian Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton has criticised Australia’s former deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Nick Coatsworth over Covid claims. Picture: Ian Currie

Dr Coatsworth also argued Covid booster shots were only necessary for vulnerable or elderly Australians, and predicted the pandemic would end by the end in 2022 in a February interview.

Responding to a Twitter post which was critical of Dr Coatsworth’s predictions on Friday, Professor Sutton said it wasn’t wise to make “bold claims” about the future direction of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’ve all been wrong about different aspects of this pandemic. Clearly,” Prof Sutton wrote.

“But I think it’s particularly incumbent upon us not to make bold claims about severity, or likely deaths, or who’s going to be affected in a wave, when we don’t really know for sure.

“It’s not over. Not yet.”

There are currently 514 COVID-19 cases in Victoria’s hospitals. Of those cases, 20 are in ICU and 8 are on a ventilator.

Victoria reported 27 deaths from the disease on Friday and there are 24,735 active cases across the state.