WHO declares monkeypox a public health emergency as HHS ponders designation
Two pediatric cases were reported in the United States last week.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Photo: Naohiko Hatta/Pool/Getty Images
The World Health Organization has declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the declaration on Saturday, the day after United States health officials said the Department of Health and Human Services is considering its own public health emergency for monkeypox.
It's a conversation that's ongoing, said Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology for the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Health officials are looking at ways the response to the virus could be enhanced as a result of a PHE declaration, she said during a press briefing on Friday afternoon.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The number of monkeypox cases continues to rise globally and nationally.
The United States announced two pediatric cases last week, according to McQuiston. In one case, the infant was from another country but was tested in this country as the family was transiting through the District of Columbia, she said.
The majority of monkeypox cases, 99%, have spread through male to male sexual contact, she said. While monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease, it spreads through close contact. There have been eight individuals who have identified as women, according to McQuiston.
She said it's not surprising to see cases outside of the male gay population, as in Europe cases have been reported among women and young children.
WHO said the monkeypox outbreak now has more than 16,000 reported cases from 75 countries and territories, including five deaths.
The CDC, as of July 21, reported 2,593 cases.
The CDC identifies monkeypox as a rare but potentially serious viral illness that typically begins with flulike illness and swelling of the lymph nodes and progresses to a widespread rash on the face and body. Symptoms are more flulike than the coronavirus, the CDC has said. Most individuals recover on their own within a few weeks, and treatment is available at the local physician's office.
Treatment is the antiviral drug Tpoxx (tecovirimat), which was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2018 to treat smallpox, a close relative of monkeypox.
Getting Tpoxx to patients has been hampered by a paperwork burden, according to McQuiston.
"We have revised the protocol to reduce the reporting burden," she said.
Dr. Ashish Jha, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, said Friday that the response to monkeypox mirrors that of COVID-19: A comprehensive strategy of testing, treatment, vaccines and outreach to communities at greatest risk of contracting the virus.
Earlier this month, the federal government ordered another 2.5 million doses of Bavarian Nordic's JYNNEOS vaccine to respond to the current monkeypox outbreak.
HHS has released an additional 300,000 doses of vaccine to jurisdictions with the highest concentration of the virus, such as New York City. More doses are expected, according to Dr. Robert Johnson, director, Division of Influenza and Emerging Infectious Diseases for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
THE LARGER TREND
On July 15, HHS renewed the public health emergency for COVID-19 for another 90 days.
After WHO declared monkeypox a public health emergency, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said, "Since the first U.S. case of monkeypox was confirmed on May 18, the Biden-Harris Administration has acted swiftly to make vaccines, testing, and treatments available to people in need. We are determined to accelerate our response in the days ahead."
Becerra has also elevated the existing Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) from a staff division to an operating division, taking on the new name of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR).
The move elevates ASPR to a standalone agency within the department to allow ASPR to mobilize a coordinated national response more effectively and efficiently during future disasters and emergencies in close collaboration with other agencies, HHS said.
The reclassification of ASPR as an operating division is recognition of the growing size and scope of ASPR's mission over the years, especially in light of the multi-year COVID-19 response.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org
