As of this writing, the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website has reported that cases of monkeypox globally have risen from 909 just a few days ago, to now 1,200 in 29 countries. Cases in the U.S. have risen from 25 to 39 in the same time period.
The CDC has increased travel advisory to its “Alert—Level 2” for those traveling outside of the U.S. to “practice enhanced precautions” because of the increase in cases. Its recommendations include:
• Avoid close contact with sick people, including those with skin or genital lesions.
• Avoid contact with dead or live wild animals. This includes rodents such as rats and squirrels and nonhuman primates such as monkeys and apes. (Please visit the website for more detailed information.)
Infectious disease specialists in the U.S. have begun to raise the alarm that the current methods used by the U.S. for testing for monkeypox have already begun creating bottlenecks. And, this is on top of a general crisis in healthcare in the U.S. due to COVID-19, from exhausted healthcare workers to lack of beds to shortages of equipment.
