Almost one-in-3 unvaccinated people who contract mpox will have symptoms so severe that they go to a hospital emergency department, according to data collected by the South East Public Health Unit.
For those who received one vaccination dose this number is halved. For those with two vaccination doses it is halved again.
“We know that vaccination reduces the severity of symptoms, which is reflected in this data collected in Melbourne’s south-east,” said the Director of SEPHU, Professor Rhonda Stuart.
“While the number of cases is small, it gives a good guide to how unwell people feel once symptoms develop and how important it is to have two vaccinations.”
Since 2024, 205 cases have been notified in the SEPHU region. All were men.
Data shows that of those people who were unvaccinated, 31.6 per cent had symptoms so severe they went to a hospital emergency department.
For those who were partially vaccinated, 16.6 per cent went to an emergency department. For fully vaccinated cases only 8.6 per cent went to an emergency department.
In Victoria, mpox mostly affects gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, however it can affect anyone.
“There is an ongoing risk of mpox being imported by travellers returning from overseas or interstate,” Professor Stuart said.
“We have seen one case of the Clade 1b mpox in our region, which is regarded as a more transmissible variant of the virus.
“Two doses of the vaccination is strongly urged for at-risk individuals because it is effective against both strains of the disease.”
Free mpox vaccine is widely available for eligible people through sexual health clinics, hospitals, general practitioners, Aboriginal health services, councils and some pharmacies.
Listen to Professor Stuart talking about mpox on JOY-FM