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Speaker 1: Well, there has been reports of outbreaks of EMPOS around

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Speaker 1: the world and certainly across Australia. The viral infection, which

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Speaker 1: spreads through close skin to skin contact, has now also

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Speaker 1: been detected in the Northern Territory with four cases identified.

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Speaker 1: Joining me on the line to tell us a bit

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Speaker 1: more about the situation is the Director of Sexual Health

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Speaker 1: Blood Born Viruses, Kelly Hoskin.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Kelly, Good morning, Katie. Thanks for having me

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Speaker 2: on your show.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, thank you so much for your time this morning. Now, firstly,

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Speaker 1: can you explain to our listeners what empox is?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, sure, So empox is a viral infection and it

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Speaker 2: was previously called monkey pock, so people might have heard

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Speaker 2: it being called monkey pox, but it's now called EMPOS.

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Speaker 2: And it was first discovered in humans in the nineteen

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Speaker 2: seventies and has coursed outbreaks in Africa since twenty seventeen.

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Speaker 2: But as you probably remember, back in twenty twenty two,

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Speaker 2: there was a big upsurge in EMPOS cases around the

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Speaker 2: world and including Australia, and they kind of peetered off

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Speaker 2: a bit and then came there's been another upsurge since

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Speaker 2: twenty twenty four. So EMPOS is usually a mild infection

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Speaker 2: and is self limiting within a couple of weeks. But

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Speaker 2: some of the symptoms that can happen to include like

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Speaker 2: a rash, people feeling generally a little bit unwell with

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Speaker 2: fevers and swollen lymph nodes, headaches and things. But as

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Speaker 2: I said, mostly people will recover within a few weeks.

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Speaker 1: And Kelly, in terms of how it's contracted lock, how

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Speaker 1: does that happen.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, sure, so anyone can get empocs, but in the

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Speaker 2: current outbreaks we've seen around the world and in Australia,

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Speaker 2: they've mostly been affecting our gay, bisexual and other men

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Speaker 2: who have sex with men communities. So empox is mainly

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Speaker 2: spread as you said at the beginning, through that close

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Speaker 2: physical skin to skin contact, and this can include sexual contact,

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Speaker 2: so that close contact if someone has got mpocs, and

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Speaker 2: it passes through usually through broken skin, so even if

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Speaker 2: you can't see the breaks on your skin, sometimes we

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Speaker 2: have little microscopic breaks, and so the virus can get

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Speaker 2: in that way. It also can get in through things

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Speaker 2: called nucous membranes, so like our nose, eyes, and mouth,

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Speaker 2: and also our genital and anal areas.

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Speaker 1: And so in terms of the fact that we've now

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Speaker 1: had four cases in the Northern Territory, is that sort

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Speaker 1: of cause for concern or does it just mean that

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Speaker 1: people need to be more vigilant.

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Speaker 2: So in terms of general population, it's very low risk,

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Speaker 2: but it's also important to just look out for signs

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Speaker 2: and symptoms, and particularly for the population who are currently

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Speaker 2: considered most at risk. We have a vaccine which is

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Speaker 2: Baker people can get. So the vaccine is currently eligible

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Speaker 2: for people who are gay, bisexual, and other men who

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Speaker 2: are having sex with men, as well as sex workers

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Speaker 2: and their partners. So NT Health has been working really

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Speaker 2: closely with our partner ENTERK and the sex Worker Outreach

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Speaker 2: program to get information to eligible groups for the vaccine

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Speaker 2: and so they can get the vaccine and look out

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Speaker 2: for symptoms. So the vaccine has two doses, so you

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Speaker 2: have one dose on day one and then twenty eight

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Speaker 2: days afterwards you get your second dose. And the vaccines

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Speaker 2: really protect people from severe symptoms. So the vaccine's free

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Speaker 2: in the NT and it's private and confidential and you

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Speaker 2: don't actually even need a Medicare card to receive the vaccine,

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Speaker 2: and people can access that vaccine at clinic Curdy fours

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Speaker 2: across the NT, so it's in all of our clinics

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Speaker 2: in our regional areas as well.

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Speaker 1: And so should they just get in contact with you

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Speaker 1: if they are keen to get the vaccine or what's

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Speaker 1: the best way to go about it.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so the best way about people who are in

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Speaker 2: those eligible groups which I mentioned before, they can just

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Speaker 2: contact their local clinics thirty for and organize an appointment

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Speaker 2: and then they can just get the vaccine. And so

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Speaker 2: I suppose the other thing message that we want to

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Speaker 2: get out is for people to look out for symptoms.

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Speaker 2: So any people in those eligible groups, so the men

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Speaker 2: who are having sex with men and sex workers and

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Speaker 2: their clients just to look out for if they've got

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Speaker 2: any fevers, headaches or rashes, so that then they just

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Speaker 2: go call up their head to their GP or to

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Speaker 2: their sexual health clinic and go and get a check.

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Speaker 1: Well, Kelly Hosking, NT Health, Director of Sexual Health and

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Speaker 1: Blood born Viruses, I really appreciate your time this morning

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Speaker 1: and appreciate you making us aware of all the empos

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Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory. But really I guess just assuring

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Speaker 1: people as well, you know, it's good to be vigilant.

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Speaker 1: Make sure that you're vigilant, and if you are somebody

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Speaker 1: who thinks that you need the vaccine, that you're able

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Speaker 1: to get in there and get that done.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Great, Thank you, Katie, thank you.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much for your time this morning. Much appreciated.