The US government has declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency following a spike in cases.
The decision will accelerate the delivery of vaccines, treatments and federal resources to stop the spread of the virus. This comes less than a fortnight after the World Health Organization (WHO) issued its highest emergency alert following a surge in cases worldwide.
According to health officials, cases in the US have crossed 6,600.
A quarter of these cases have appeared in the state of New York, which declared its state of emergency over the disease last week.
The two states with the next highest caseloads – California and Illinois – declared states of emergency earlier this week. More than 26,000 cases have been confirmed worldwide, data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows.
Some public health experts have expressed concern the emergency declaration could further stigmatise the disease. Although anyone can catch monkeypox, the outbreak has been largely concentrated among men who have sex with men.
But it is not purely a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and can also be passed on by close contact with an infected person. The virus typically causes pimple-like rashes, which can be extremely itchy and painful, to develop and spread across the body and other complications.
Infections are usually mild and clear up on their own in adult patients without treatment or hospitalisation – but the WHO has warned that young children have died at higher rates from the disease.
Officials in the US and elsewhere have recommended that people at the highest risk of exposure – including some gay and bisexual men and some healthcare workers should get the jab on a priority basis.
The declaration on Thursday comes amid reports that vaccines and treatments for monkeypox are in short supply across the country.
The Department of Health and Human Services said last week that it had ordered more than five million more doses to be delivered until next May. Earlier this week, the White House also announced the appointment of a team to coordinate and oversee the national monkeypox response.
It includes Dr Demetre Daskalakis, a New York physician who has led successful initiatives to curb the spread of HIV in the US.
