Federal officials reported Friday that they expect the number of monkeypox cases to continue rising as a result of expanded testing, continued community transmission, and a current vaccine shortage. As officials face growing criticism over their handling of the outbreak, experts fear it may already be too late to contain it.
The largest number of cases in Spain, Germany, and the UK are from the multinational monkeypox outbreak. The US is now in the top four. It might move up in the ranks quickly.
Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that they anticipate an increase in cases. There are three reasons why they expect a rise.
First, the agency has just recently streamlined the reporting process for states, which first began reporting cases in May. Second, because there's often a three-week incubation period between exposures and symptoms, officials expect to start seeing the cases from transmission events early in the US outbreak. Last, the CDC has expanded testing capacity recently, adding some commonly used commercial labs, such as Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics. The expansion boosted capacity from performing a maximum of about 6,000 tests per week to 70,000. It also makes it easier for clinicians to order tests and will likely speed up the turnaround for results.Patients had to wait up to seven days for test results, and there were reports of delayed results.
AdvertisementThe country's ability to identify cases may improve, but it's still difficult to treat and prevent new cases. According to the Washington Post, doctors have to complete hours of paperwork for each patient in order to get access to the Strategic National Stockpile. The chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center told the Post that it had been difficult.
The US doesn't have enough of the Jynneos vaccine for pre- and post-exposure prophylactics. The vaccine is recommended for people with known or suspected monkeypox exposure. New York City has been overwhelmed by demand and can't keep up with it.
The demand for vaccines from jurisdictions is higher than our current available supply. This is frustrating to us.
The Department of Health and Human Services made an additional 131,000 doses available for states to order, which will be available by early next week. There is a new vaccine batches on top of the previous ones.
With the slow response to the outbreak, many experts are worried that the virus could become established in the US. The majority of cases are among people who identify as men who have sex with men. Health experts warn that as the outbreak grows, it will be more likely that the virus will spread to pregnant people and children. At least eight people who were identified as female at birth have been exposed to the disease in the US The CDC only has demographic data on 700 of the 1,450 cases.
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