Monkeypox: US declares national emergency over spread of virus

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US Secretary of Health Xavier Becerra

Photo: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN / REUTERS

The United States has declared a national health emergency because of the spread of monkeypox.

This should also allow federal funds to be released to fight the virus.

"We stand ready to take our response to this virus to the next level, and we urge every American to take monkeypox seriously and take responsibility to help us fight this virus," the US Secretary of Health and Human Services said Xavier Becerra.

According to the Department of Health, there are now around 6,600 cases in the United States.

Around 1.1 million vaccine doses would be made available to people in the country, Becerra said.

He announced that he would increase testing capacity to 80,000 per week.

Individual US states and large cities, such as the states of New York and California, had previously declared a state of emergency and asked for federal help.

Because of the rapid spread of monkeypox, the World Health Organization had declared the highest alert level almost two weeks ago.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the outbreak was an “emergency of international concern”.

The international spread of the infectious disease is unusual.

So far, it has mainly been limited to six African countries.

Health authorities confirm cases in children

Currently, the outbreak is largely focused on men who have sex with men.

However, according to the CDC, cases in children have already been confirmed in the United States.

Monkeypox infection can cause a rash, swollen lymph nodes, fever, chills, and muscle pain.

The disease is usually not fatal.

dam/dpa