Monkeypox: Over 23k cases globally, as the WHO, US declare public health emergency
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: As the World Health Organization (WHO) said the United States had seen the biggest jump in monkeypox cases, Washington declared a “public health emergency” on Thursday. The media reported the contagious disease continued to spread globally.
As of August 3, over 6,600 cases of the disease had been confirmed in the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
On Thursday, the WHO said cases rose globally by 18.7 percent last week, with Europe and the Americas reporting the bulk of cases over the past month. The US saw the largest spike in cases in the last week of July. The global health watchdog had, on July 23, declared the spread of monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), its highest level of alert.
So far, at least 83 countries have reported over 26,000 laboratory-confirmed cases. Together, ten countries account for 89 percent of the world’s cases, including the US (6,600 cases), Spain (4,298), Germany (2,677), the United Kingdom (2,546), France (1,955), Brazil (1,369), the Netherlands (879), Canada (803), Portugal (633), and Italy (479).
Only 15 counties have reported no new cases in the past 21 days, with 20 countries reporting an increase in cases in the same period. In the past week, seven countries reported their first cases: the Philippines, Montenegro, Uruguay, Liberia, Sudan, Lithuania, and Cyprus.
“We’re prepared to take our responsibility to the next level in addressing this virus, and we urge every American to take monkeypox seriously,” US Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra said on Thursday.
The disease can cause symptoms such as fever, headache, aches, chills, and rashes that can be itchy and painful but are rarely fatal. The reports said there had been no deaths in the United States.
“Monkeypox can spread from the time symptoms start until the rash has healed, all scabs have fallen off, and a fresh layer of skin has formed,” said the CDC website. “The illness typically lasts 2-4 weeks.”
The disease can spread through prolonged and close skin-to-skin contact, including hugging, cuddling, and kissing, and sharing bedding, towels, and clothing. Anyone can contract the disease, although homosexual men are more likely to be affected.
Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted virus, but sexual contact would make up close contact, one of the main routes the virus spreads.
To reduce the risk of transmission, the UN has suggested limiting the number of sexual partners a person has.
“We know this virus impacts everyone equally–but those in our LGBTQ community are at greater risk right now,” said San Francisco Mayor London Breed on July 28.
Reacting to racist reports in a section of the media, the UN criticized some reports about the virus, warning that poor journalism can “reinforce homophobic and racist stereotypes and exacerbate stigma.”
In the US, many have criticized the Biden administration for its failure to ensure the availability of vaccines for the disease, contributing to shortages in cities such as New York and San Francisco.
Numbers show that, of all cases, 98.8 percent are men, and the median age is 37. Men in the age bracket of 18 to 44 years old represent 76.7 percent of cases in the global outbreak.
Among cases with known data on sexual orientation, 97.5 percent identified as men who have sex with men (MSM), and 1 percent identified as bisexual. Thirty-seven percent of cases with known HIV status were HIV positive.
Sexual contact is the likely transmission reason for 91.5 percent of patients. Officials also reported 339 cases in healthcare workers. Most health workers, however, were infected in the community and not through workplace exposure.
“The most common symptom is any rash and is reported in 83 percent of cases with at least one reported symptom,” the WHO said.
