The United States declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency, a move that may increase health agency access to funds and allow the government new avenues for increasing production and use of existing vaccines.
First identified in monkeys, the virus is transmitted chiefly through close contact with an infected person. It typically causes mild symptoms including fever, rash, swollen lymph nodes and pus-filled skin lesions. Severe cases can occur though people tend to recover within two to four weeks, according to the WHO.Anyone can spread the virus, but the current outbreak outside of Africa is concentrated almost exclusively among men who have sex with men.
Health officials from several countries had urged the WHO to label monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern due to the quick escalation of cases and concerns it may become endemic in more countries. The fatality rate in preceding monkeypox outbreaks in Africa of the strain currently spreading has been around 1%, but so far this outbreak appears to be less lethal in the non-endemic countries, many of which have stronger healthcare infrastructure. Until this year, the viral disease has rarely spread outside Africa where it is endemic.
Infectious disease experts say that years of financial neglect has left sexual health clinics on the frontline of the current monkeypox response ill-prepared to curb further spread.Health officials say that people should avoid close personal contact with someone who has a illness presenting with a distinctive rash or who is otherwise unwell. People who suspect they have monkeypox should isolate and seek medical care.
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