Published on : 05/08/2022 – 01:34
The United States, which has tallied more than 6,600 cases, has declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency. This announcement is accompanied by measures and the release of funds to eradicate the disease.
The United States declared, on Thursday August 4, a public health emergency for the epidemic of monkey pox, a decision that should make it possible to release funds, facilitate data collection and deploy more staff to fight the disease. It is in effect for 90 days and can be renewed.
“We are ready to take our response to the virus to the next level and call on all Americans to take monkeypox seriously and do what is necessary to help us fight the virus,” the Secretary of State said. Health, Xavier Becerra.
With more than 6,600 cases in the country, around a quarter of them in New York state alone, action needed to be taken quickly to control the outbreak until it spreads further, experts said. . There have been no deaths from the disease so far in the United States, but some patients have had to be hospitalized to deal with immense pain.
Experts fear that the actual number of cases is much higher due to sometimes very subtle symptoms, including simple lesions that can be seen as similar to those of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), a category in which however smallpox does not fit. of the monkey.
To combat this epidemic, the Federal State provided approximately 600,000 doses of the vaccine manufactured by the Danish Bavarian Nordic and marketed under the name of Jynneos in North America, Imvanex in Europe and initially developed for smallpox.
But that number remains a far cry from the roughly 1.6 million people considered high-risk in the country, and the next shipment (150,000 doses) will not arrive in the United States until September due to logistical problems, said said an official from the Ministry of Health.
Transmission mainly through sexual intercourse
The Department of Health said last week that 99% of cases in the United States were in men who have sex with men – a small but growing number of women and children have been affected.
This population is, despite risks of stigmatization, the priority target for vaccination. They are also a priority for preventive actions organized by the authorities, aiming in particular to establish a better knowledge of the symptoms and to suggest reducing their number of sexual partners between now and their 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 World Health Organization (WHO) had triggered at the end of July its highest level of alert to strengthen the fight against monkeypox.
With AFP