US declares monkeypox a public health emergency

In United States, Monkeypox has now been declared a public health emergency. The coutntry has recorded about 7,000 cases so far.  The emergency declaration frees up federal money and other resources to fight the virus, which may cause fever, body aches, chills, fatigue and pimple-like bumps on many parts of the body. As per the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) tally, 1,748 patients have been reported from the state - the highest in the country. Among sections identified by the US health body who are vulnerable are: "people who have been identified by public health officials as a contact of someone with monkeypox, people who are aware that one of their sexual partners in the past 2 weeks has been diagnosed with monkeypox, and people who had multiple sexual partners in the past 2 weeks in an area with known monkeypox."President Biden tweeted he remained "committed to our monkeypox response: ramping-up vaccine distribution, expanding testing, and educating at-risk communities." 

I remain committed to our monkeypox response: ramping-up vaccine distribution, expanding testing, and educating at-risk communities.

That's why today's public health emergency declaration on the virus is critical to confronting this outbreak with the urgency it warrants.

— President Biden (@POTUS) August 4, 2022

A global emergency is the WHO's highest level of alert, but the designation does not necessarily mean a disease is particularly transmissible or lethal. California, Illinois and New York have all made declarations in the last week, as have New York City, San Francisco and San Diego County. Of the 50 states in the US, most now have monkepox patients.