“We have tests for monkeypox. We have vaccines for monkeypox and we have treatments for monkeypox,” Raj Punjabi, who leads the White House’s global health security effort, said at a press conference on the efficiency.
More than 1,300 cases of monkeypox have been discovered worldwide, because the disease – which has appeared several times in central and western Africa in recent decades, but It rarely spreads to humans – It seems Get a foothold In countries like Germany, Portugal and the UK. The current episode is likely to become the worst outbreak of monkeypox on record in the United States, surpassing the 2003 outbreak in which 47 cases were confirmed or detected in six states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But public health experts point out that monkeypox poses a much lower risk than the coronavirus pandemic, which has upended the world since 2020 and been linked to the deaths of more than a million Americans.
“My feeling is that it will not be like what we have seen with Covid. The general public need not worry too much about it at this point,” Don Melton, a University of Maryland environmentalist who has advised the White House and others on dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, said in an interview.
” While [monkeypox] Cases have continued to rise, and I want to reiterate that so far there have been no deaths associated with this outbreak,” CDC Director Rochelle Wallinsky said during a Friday briefing. “While the overall risk of developing monkeypox in the general population in the United States is currently low, we want people to be aware of the signs and symptoms and seek immediate medical care if they think they may have symptoms of monkeypox. »
Symptoms of monkeypox often include fever, headache, and sores that can last for weeks. Although federal regulators have not approved specific treatments for monkeypox, officials said treatments and vaccines designed to fight smallpox — a closely related virus that has more severe symptoms — are available through the stock. strategic national.
” The [Strategic National Stockpile] “It contains enough vaccine … to vaccinate millions of Americans if needed,” said Don O’Connell, assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Department of Health and Human Services. She said officials have in stock more than 100 million doses of an older smallpox vaccine, ACAM2000, and about 72,000 doses of a new smallpox vaccine also approved for monkeypox, Jynneos. Officials said the stockpile also contains reserves of antiviral treatments such as tecovirimat and cidofovir.
Federal officials said the monkeypox outbreak was driven by Americans traveling overseas.
“I think the majority of cases in the United States — 75% or more — are still reporting international travel exposure that can lead to monkeypox,” said Jennifer McCuston, incident director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). . .
Officials have said a number of cases in the United States have also been linked to sexual contact, leading them to warn of the risks of direct physical contact in spreading the virus.
But some experts have done it Demand That monkeypox is also spreading through the air, echoing the controversy that emerged at the start of the coronavirus outbreak. While the CDC and other public health agencies initially said the coronavirus was not transmitted through the air, agencies They overturned En 2021, l’administration Biden a more and more cautious Indoor air is the main driver of coronavirus infection.
The CDC encouraged travelers last week to wear a mask as a precaution against monkeypox infection, but removed the recommendation this week, saying the advice is unnecessary and confusing.
Administration officials said Friday they have no reason to believe monkeypox is airborne.
“When we think of airborne transmission at CDC, we’re talking about tiny virus particles that are airborne and can stay there for long periods of time,” Walinsky said. “We have not seen any documentation of this from our experience with this virus or with previous similar viruses. »
Outside experts like Melton said they criticized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) decision to underestimate the possibility of airborne transmission of monkeypox, particularly because the World Health Organization has pointed out that airborne spread might be possible.
“I don’t really understand,” Milton said, citing evidence that smallpox was transmitted through the air. “If we don’t pay attention to the potential for airborne transmission in the short term, it can increase the ‘risk of developing monkeypox.’ »