© REUTERS
The US government has declared the monkeypox virus outbreak a national public health emergency. This frees up more money for treatments and removes many bureaucratic obstacles to measures. At the end of July, the World Health Organization (WHO) had also labeled the outbreak a global emergency.
Nearly 7,000 cases of monkey pox have been identified in the US in 48 different states. In California, New York and Illinois, where a state of emergency was declared earlier this week, almost half of the total number of confirmed infections has so far been detected.
“We are ready to go one step further in our response to the virus. We call on all Americans to take monkey pox seriously and do what is necessary to help us fight the virus,” said Health Secretary Xavier Becerra.
Resources
A national emergency means the outbreak now poses a significant threat to Americans and could trigger a series of measures to contain the infections. The federal agencies will then be given the power to, among other things, recruit additional staff or order vaccines and medicines. In addition, resources can be released more easily and the state of emergency makes it possible to collect data more easily and to deploy more effective ones.
The virus is usually transmitted through close physical contact. The infection is rarely fatal, but can be very painful. The United States has one of the highest rates in the world, and the number is expected to rise. More than 99 percent of cases involve men who have sex with men, writes The New York Times.