Aug 4 (Reuters) – The United States has declared monkeypox a public health emergency, the health secretary said on Thursday, a move expected to free up additional funding and tools to fight the disease.
The number in the US topped 6,600 on Wednesday, almost all cases among men who have sex with men.
“We are ready to take our response to the next level in dealing with this virus and urge every American to take monkeypox seriously,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said at a briefing.
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The declaration will improve the availability of data on monkeypox infections that are needed for the response, said US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky, speaking alongside Bassera.
The US government is under pressure to deal with the epidemic.
The disease began to spread in Europe before moving to the United States, where it now has the most cases in the world. Vaccines and treatments have been in short supply, and the disease has often been left to the management of sexual health clinics, which have historically been underfunded. Read more
The World Health Organization has declared monkeypox a “public health emergency of international concern,” the highest level of alert. The WHO declaration last month was intended to spark a coordinated international response and unlock funding for vaccine and treatment collaborations. Read more
Governments are implementing vaccines and treatments that were first approved for smallpox but also work for monkeypox.
The U.S. government has distributed 600,000 doses of Bavarian Nordic’s ( BAVA.CO ) Jynneos vaccine and deployed 14,000 of Siga Technologies’ ( SIGA.O ) TPOXX treatment, officials said, but did not disclose how many had been administered.
Walenski said the government aims to vaccinate more than 1.6 million high-risk individuals.
US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf said the agency is considering releasing more doses of the Jynneos vaccine by allowing doctors to draw 5 doses of the vaccine from each vial instead of the current 1 dose, using a different subcutaneous inoculation method.
This month, US President Joe Biden appointed two federal officials to coordinate his administration’s monkeypox response, following the declaration of states of emergency by California, Illinois and New York. Read more
First identified in monkeys in 1958, the disease has mild symptoms, including fever, aches and pus-filled skin lesions, and people tend to recover from it within two to four weeks, the WHO says. It is spread through close physical contact and is rarely fatal.
Anthony Fauci, Biden’s top medical adviser, told Reuters on Thursday it was critical to engage gay community leaders as part of efforts to contain the epidemic, but cautioned against stigmatizing the lifestyle.
“Community engagement has always been successful,” Fauci said.
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Reporting by Manas Mishra and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru, Ismail Shakeel in Ottawa, Carolyn Humer and Leela de Kretzer Editing by Anil D’Silva, Deepa Babington and Howard Goller
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