HYDERABAD: The medical experts have advised pregnant women and nursing mothers to take extra care against monkeypox as they cannot be inoculated. They said that it is for the best to avoid physical interaction and touching objects used by other persons.
There is a need to prepare the hospitals across the State with all the necessary equipment for such women. The care centers required for infected pregnant women and nursing mothers are available mostly in urban parts of the State.
Notably, two vaccines used for smallpox disease have been approved and licensed by the Food and Drug Authority in the United States. The vaccines are not available in India yet. Pregnant women are not eligible for these vaccines as they might harm the babies. Similarly, the newborn can get affected through breast milk if the mother is vaccinated.
“A study needs to be conducted on whether these vaccines have any adverse effect on the child in the womb,” said Dr. Avash Pani, a consultant paediatrician at Apollo Cradle & Children’s Hospital in Kondapur. “Such women can be treated with monoclonal antibodies if infected,” he added.