Monkeypox outbreak slows in US, but health leaders say significant challenge remains

CNN
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New cases of monkeypox in the United States have been steadily declining in recent weeks, with cases reported in the first week of September down to about half of the peak a month ago.

But the recent death of a Los Angeles County resident, the first in the United States to be attributed to monkeypox, is a tragic reminder that the outbreak is ongoing and still poses a risk.

“There is some hope that these cases will level off. It shouldn’t be a comfort to anyone that this outbreak is over,” said the executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors. David Harvey said at a briefing on Tuesday.

“We must step up our efforts to respond to this outbreak, and this highly unusual outbreak of a known virus for decades is presented very differently in the United States. So many data questions, clinical care questions, and research questions about this are still unanswered.”

Monkeypox deaths are extremely rare and often affect babies, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems, such as those with HIV.This year, the World Health Organization reported 22 died out of about 58,000 cases. About 22,000 of these cases have been reported in the United States.

“Back in July, the CDC estimated that it took eight days for cases to double nationwide. By mid-August, the doubling rate was 25 days, a sign of positive progress. said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, the White House Assistant Monkeypox Response Coordinator last week.

But Harvey and other public health leaders said on Tuesday that those on the front lines of the response — including local health departments, epidemiologists and sexually transmitted disease clinics — will be assured of continued improvements. I warned you that you don’t have enough resources to do this.

Also, Dr. Caesar Arias, director of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and director of the Infectious Diseases Division at Houston Methodist Hospital, said there is a “very important immunocompromised population in the United States” that is at risk if the epidemic continues. higher. said in a briefing.

Other key concerns raised by US public health leaders at Tuesday’s briefing include unfair vaccination, access to testing and incomplete surveillance data.

They called on Congress to make large amounts of funds readily available to deal with the pandemic, and demand that the Biden administration allocate about $4 billion to the monkeypox response in the next government funding bill. He defended what he did and listed it as one of his “four critical needs” along with support. For Ukraine, Covid-19 response and natural disaster recovery.

Funding pressures have led federal leaders, including Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, to speak to the Senate Committee on Health and Education. One day before the scheduled date. , Labor and Pensions on the Federal Response to the Monkeypox Outbreak.

Public health leaders attribute the decline in the incidence of new cases to vaccination and changes in the behavior of those most at risk.Men who have sex with men have been disproportionately affected by the outbreak, with about half report According to the CDC, we are taking steps to protect ourselves and our partners.

But for this hopeful trend to continue, continued effort and investment will be needed, especially in reaching out to underrepresented groups. says medical leaders.

“In many ways, the first easy task has been completed. Now, local health departments reach deeper into the most hard-to-reach communities by providing messages, education, vaccines, testing and treatment. We need to be more creative to ‘health officials’.

data People of color make up a disproportionate share of cases, but are underrepresented among vaccinated people, according to a CDC study.

According to the CDC’s CNN analysis, more than half of the new monkeypox cases in the past two months were in black and Hispanic people, yet only about a third of the initial vaccinations went to individuals in these groups. did. data.

The White House monkeypox response team last month highlighted efforts to address these inequities and provide vaccinations at large events and festivals as one strategy to curb them.

“As the supply of vaccines grows, I think there are new opportunities for strategies to get vaccines to people, rather than having people find them.” Daskalakis said.

Last week, Daskarakis noted that infection rates are slowing in hardest-hit areas of the country, including New York, Texas, California and Illinois.

But local public health leaders stressed the need for a broader view.

“We can’t take our feet off the gas just because major cities have the means to take strong response measures and smaller rural communities have to fend for themselves,” Harvey said. .