On August 4, local time, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency in the United States. As of August 3, the number of confirmed cases of monkeypox in the United States has exceeded 6,600, making it the country with the largest number of confirmed cases in the world.
The first case of monkeypox in the United States was detected in Massachusetts in May, and the second was confirmed in California five days later. Before the U.S. government declared a national public health emergency, New York, California and Illinois had already declared states of emergency.
On July 23, the World Health Organization declared the monkeypox outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern”. The monkeypox virus was first identified in monkeys in 1958 and is usually spread through close contact, with symptoms including mild fever, body aches and skin lesions.
As of mid-July, the U.S. government had distributed 156,000 doses of monkeypox vaccine nationwide and ordered another 2.5 million doses.
Confirmed cases exceed 6,000 The United States declares the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency. Click on the video to see what it is!