Monkeypox studies suggest ways to reduce viral spread

Less than three months since it launched, the  monkeypox rapid research response  led by the University of Toronto's  Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium  (EPIC) and three partner hospitals is generating results that could help curb transmission of the virus. "When monkeypox first arrived in Canada, we quickly learned about the stockpile of smallpox vaccine [which also protects against monkeypox]," said  Jesse Knight , a PhD candidate in University of Toronto's Institute of Medical Science in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. "Given that the vaccine supply was quite limited early on, it was important to use it quickly and efficiently to help reduce cases." Knight is the first author on a new modelling study that looks at how to optimize the initial rollout of vaccine to prevent the most infections. The study,  which has not yet been peer-reviewed , suggests that the greatest number of infections could be prevented by prioritizing vaccines to bigger cities with larger networks of communities at risk, the highest epidemic potential and largest number of initial cases. Knight notes these results do not mean that areas outside of big cities should not receive vaccines, but rather they provide guidance on how to maximize immediate impact - early in an epidemic - of an extremely limited supply until more doses become available. Indeed, while Ontario's vaccination efforts initially centred on Toronto, they soon expanded to areas outside the city. The preliminary findings were co-authored by Knight's academic supervisor  Sharmistha Mishra  and collaborator  Darrell Tan , both clinician-researchers at St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, and associate professors in University of Toronto's Temerty Faculty of Medicine.