Global monkeypox cases top 1,000!CDC raises epidemic alert level to strengthen precautionary measures
Financial Associated Press, June 8 (Editor Zhao Hao) On Monday (June 6), local time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on its official website raised the alert level for the monkeypox outbreak to level 2 (a total of three level), encouraging the public to “strengthen precautionary measures” in response to the recent outbreak of monkeypox.
The latest data from the US CDC shows that globally, the cumulative number of confirmed and suspected cases in 29 countries has reached 1,019.
In the latest epidemic prevention guidelines, the CDC requires reducing close contact with patients with skin lesions, avoiding contact with wild animals, and refusing to eat game or ingest products from African wild animals when traveling internationally.
In addition, the CDC also asks not to touch the clothing, bedding, medical supplies, etc. used by the above-mentioned patients with lesions. The same is true for infected animals.
The CDC emphasizes that the current risk of monkeypox to the public is low, but if “you develop a new unexplained rash, with or without fever or chills, seek immediate medical attention and avoid contact with others.”
The CDC added that many of the cases had not recently traveled to Central or West African countries where monkeypox typically occurs, and “if you have symptoms and may have monkeypox, do not use public transportation without professional permission.”
A second branch of the U.S. genome has been discovered in a suspected case in Washington
On June 5, local time, the health department in Washington, the capital of the United States, said that a Washington resident who had recently traveled to Europe had tested positive for the orthopoxvirus.
The health department has sent a virus sample from the patient to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for testing to confirm whether it is monkeypox virus. The health department in Washington said the patient is currently in isolation and does not pose a risk to the public, and the health department is monitoring his close contacts.
In addition, U.S. federal health officials revealed that genetic sequencing of recent monkeypox cases revealed two different strains of the monkeypox virus, suggesting the virus may have spread undetected in the U.S. long time.
Officials said most of the current cases are of the same strain as the wave in Europe, though two samples were detected with different strains that were genetically identical to a patient who had monkeypox symptoms after returning from Nigeria in 2021. Sequencing is similar.
This means that long before the outbreak of the monkeypox epidemic in the United States, the virus may have been “secretly spread” in the country, but the spread was not large, or it was misdiagnosed as other diseases.
UK designates monkeypox as a notifiable disease
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has designated monkeypox as a legally notifiable disease, with the same treatment as Covid-19, malaria, smallpox and whooping cough. In addition, the bureau has also designated monkeypox virus as a statutory notifiable organism (pathogen) list, that is, laboratories must notify UKHSA when the virus is found in a sample.
Wendi Shepherd, UKHSA’s Director of Monkeypox Incidents, said: “Rapid diagnosis and reporting is key to interrupting the spread of monkeypox and containing further spread. This new rule will support us and our health partners to rapidly identify, treat and control the disease. “
The new rules “also support our rapid collection and analysis of data, allowing us to identify potential outbreak points and rapidly trace close contacts, while providing vaccinations where appropriate to limit continued transmission,” Shepherd said.
The UK Health Security Agency previously said that as of June 5, there were 77 new cases of monkeypox in the UK, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 302. There are currently 287 confirmed cases of monkeypox in England, 10 in Scotland, two in Northern Ireland and three in Wales.