Over 6,600 cases… and a public health emergency. The United States has declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency. “We are ready to take our response to the next level to fight this virus, and we urge all Americans to take monkeypox seriously and take responsibility for helping us fight this virus,” Xavier said. Becerra, Secretary of State for Health.
The declaration, in effect for 90 days, which can be renewed, comes as the number of cases recorded in the United States exceeded 6,600 on Thursday, with around a quarter in New York state alone. Experts fear that the real figure is much higher, however, due to sometimes very discreet symptoms, including simple lesions.
The federal state provided around 600,000 doses of the vaccine, marketed as Jynneos in North America, Imvanex in Europe and originally developed for smallpox. But that number is still a far cry from the roughly 1.6 million people considered to be at high risk in the country. The American drug agency, the FDA, has for its part said it is studying the possibility of authorizing caregivers to administer five doses of vaccine from a single one by modifying the way in which it is injected.
Homosexuals on the front line
The Department of Health said last week that 99% of cases in the United States were in men who have sex with men. This population is the priority target for vaccination.
Unlike previous waves in Africa, this new epidemic of monkeypox is transmitted mainly through sexual contact, but the American health authorities (CDC) indicate that other routes are possible, in particular by sharing a bed, clothes and prolonged face-to-face contact. The first symptoms of monkeypox are a high fever, swollen lymph nodes, and a chickenpox-like rash.
The WHO had triggered on July 24 the highest level of alert, the public health emergency of international concern (USPPI) to strengthen the fight against monkeypox. Spain announced two monkeypox-related deaths last week, the first in Europe, and Brazil one. In India, a man has also died, in what could be the first fatal case of the disease in Asia.