The World Health Organization has declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern.
“We have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly, through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little, and which meets the criteria in the International Health Regulations,”said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesuson Saturday.
The risk of monkeypox, globally, is moderate, Tedros said, “except in the European region where we assess the risk as high.”
There is also a clear risk of further international spread. More than16,000 casesof monkeypox have been confirmed in 74 countries so far. Nearly 3,000 cases have been confirmed in the U.S., touching all but a handful of states, according to theU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of July 22, CDC data shows a wide range of confirmed cases across the Midwest and surrounding area. States with just a handful of cases include: Iowa, Ohio, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas and Wisconsin. Indiana, Michigan and Minnesota have 31, 27 and 19 cases, respectively, and Illinois has more than 200 confirmed cases.
Tedros said he decided to declare monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern even though the WHO expert committee tasked with assessing the situation could not reach a consensus.
There are no deaths reported in the U.S. so far. But deaths have been reported inNigeria and Congo, where a more dangerous version of the virus is circulating.
The CDC recommends that anyone with a rash thatlooks like monkeypoxshould speak with their health care provider, even if they don’t think they came in contact with an infected person. Anyone with active monkeypox symptoms should isolate at home in a separate room from others.
There aretwo vaccineslicensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to prevent monkeypox: JYNNEOS, also known as Imvamune or Imvanex, and ACAM2000. Butsupplies are limited. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services saysnearly 200,000 doseshave been distributed in recent weeks.
These vaccinescan protect peopleagainst monkeypox illness when received before or after a recent exposure, according to the CDC, although data is not yet available on the effectiveness of the vaccines in the current outbreak.
At the start of the month, 474 doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine were shipped to Indiana, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The Indiana State Health Department said in an emailed statement to WFYI that the agency is using its limited supplies to post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) in accordance with the CDC recommendations.
“At this time, IDOH has been allocated enough Jynneos vaccine to vaccinate around 1,000 people,” the spokesperson said.
“In addition, a small amount of vaccine was used to vaccinate laboratory staff in Indiana who work with or will be directly working with monkeypox specimens.”
In a presentationin May by Dr. Rosamund Lewis, the WHO’s technical lead on monkeypox, said the disease is self-limiting and symptoms typically last two to four weeks. The incubation period is usually six to 13 days but can range from five to 21 days. Symptoms include fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes and a skin rash or lesions. The skin lesions usually appear one to three days after fever onset.
The current outbreak in Europe, the Americas and elsewhere is not typical of previous ones,according to the WHO. In prior years, monkeypox was reported in several African countries, with occasional cases in other countries linked to travel from Nigeria.
Tedros said the current outbreak is concentrated among men who have sex with men, “especially those with multiple sexual partners. That means that this is an outbreak that can be stopped with the right strategies.”
But the risk of monkeypox is not limited to people who are sexually active or men who have sex with men. The WHO says anyone who has close contact with someone who has symptoms is at risk.
Monkeypox cases are being identified at sexual health clinics, so “one reason we are currently hearing more reports of cases of monkeypox in communities of men who have sex with men may be because of positive health seeking behaviour in this population group,”the WHO website states.
In addition, “given that the virus is currently moving from person to person in these social networks, men who have sex with men may currently be at higher risk of being exposed if they have close contact with someone who is infectious.”
Tedros called on all countries to “work closely with communities of men who have sex with men, to design and deliver effective information and services, and to adopt measures that protect the health, human rights and dignity of affected communities,” noting that “stigma and discrimination can be as dangerous as any virus.”
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra issued a statement following the WHO decision to declare monkeypox a global health emergency, describing the move a "call to action" for the global health community.
"Monkeypox has spread around the world and we will continue to take decisive action to tackle it both here in the U.S. and, working in concert with our partners abroad, globally," Becerra said.
Regarding the Biden-Harris administration's efforts to make vaccines, testing and treatments available to people in need, Becerra said: "We are determined to accelerate our response in the days ahead."
This story comes from a reporting collaboration that includes the Indianapolis Recorder andSide Effects Public Media, a public health news initiative based at WFYI. Contact Farah at fyousry@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @Farah_Yousrym.
