‘Every American should watch out for monkey disease’: HHS official’s warning

The head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) warned on Thursday that every American should “take care” of the monkeypox epidemic, as the disease can spread to more groups than gay men. The United States reached 4600 to be the highest. count in the world.

Dr. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra issued a stern warning at a press conference, adding that infections due to the disease are “painful” and can even be dangerous. He insisted that it was “definitely” still possible for the United States to eradicate monkeypox.

The vast majority of cases still involve gay or bisexual men, but last week America recorded the first two cases in children – an infant in California and a traveling infant in Washington DC – and a pregnant woman who found positive when nearly full time.

Leading experts have warned for weeks that other groups can contract the disease, as transmission does not require sexual contact but only close contact, such as hugging or brushing an infected person’s rash.

Becerra’s comments came after the number of infections in the US rose 1,048 cases on Thursday to the highest in the world, and officials warned the number would continue to rise “weeks”. California and New York accounted for 75% of the increase attributed to the addition of “historical” cases.

No deaths have yet been reported in the United States, as only one death has been recorded so far in Nigeria in this global outbreak of more than 20,000 cases. But more deaths are feared if the disease spreads to more vulnerable groups, including children and pregnant women.

Dr. Xevier Becerra, head of the Department of Health and Human Services, warned that all Americans should be concerned about the spread of monkeypox. Captain Jennifer McQuiston, in the CDC response, warned that the number of cases would continue to rise for weeks.

“Every American should be mindful of monkeypox,” Becerra said at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conference.

Monkeypox is not Covid, but it is contagious, painful and can be dangerous. Our aim at HHS is to keep up with the virus and stop the epidemic. We are doing everything we can in this regard,” he said.

“On demand, we can not only continue the game, we can definitely put an end to this epidemic. We believe we are doing everything possible at the federal level. [for this].’

Becerra also urged all Americans who recommend the vaccine to get one, noting that many Americans do not receive the vaccine, even in Covid (which can be even deadlier than monkeypox).

Today, they announced that approximately 800,000 additional doses of vaccine have arrived in the United States and are now available to states. That’s more than double the total of 338,000 distributed so far.

Health officials also say another 5.5 million will arrive by May next year, with another 11.1 million in storage if the outbreak worsens.

New York City and Washington DC are making the vaccines available to all gay or bisexual men who have had more than one sexual contact within two weeks, although most states are currently implementing vaccines to ensure close contacts of reported cases. Both planned to offer a second dose, usually given 28 days after the first due to a lack of supply.

Yesterday, top officials went on the air to warn men who have sex with men to “limit” their sexual contact to prevent the spread of the disease.

Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, a pathologist at the CDC, told the briefing that nearly all cases of monkeypox are reported in a man, and “the vast majority” claim to have had sex with other men. The oldest were 76 years old, with an average of 35.

About two-fifths of cases were detected among white men, while two-fifths were among Hispanics and about 30% were among blacks. Four percent were Asian.

Almost all cases experienced redness, fatigue, fever and swollen lymph nodes during the infection making up the rest of the four most common symptoms.

To date, no deaths from the disease have been reported in the United States, but fears are growing that the disease could spread to more vulnerable groups, including children and pregnant women.

The spread of the disease only requires physical contact, such as hugging or brushing the arm of an infected person, or it can be picked from the shells of a patient lying in bed. Sexual contact is not necessary.

This week, the CDC revealed the first two cases in infants: a California infant and a traveling infant in Washington DC. Another infection was also detected in a pregnant woman, although its location has not been disclosed.

Health officials say all cases are “going well”. But data show that children under the age of eight have a higher risk of serious illness than adults. Pregnant women are also at greater risk, especially during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, when the disease can lead to abnormalities in the formation of the baby’s organs.

Other experts have warned that monkeypox may have spread to other groups, but it has yet to be discovered as authorities have done so little testing.

Dawn O’Connell, assistant secretary for preparedness and response at HHS, said there are now another 11.1 million doses available in the United States, currently in storage, in Denmark.

He said these would be lined up with additional funding from Congress and that cases could escalate if deemed necessary.

Another 1,048 cases of monkeypox were recorded in the United States yesterday, and McQuiston said most of that number is “historical” and infections are only now added to the total.

The outbreak in the United States is making it the largest in the world, with Germany at 2,540, as well as Spain – one of the first countries to record cases – with 3,738 infections.

But looking at the data in terms of population, which is more accurate because it also takes into account the size of countries, the top ten countries with the most cases show that the United States has the eighth largest outbreak.

At the top of the table is Spain with the highest number of cases per capita, followed by Portugal and the Netherlands.