Monkeypox emergency could last months, and the window is closing to stop its spread, experts say
Scientists advising the World Health Organization on monkeypox say the window is closing to stop its spread, with cases currently doubling every two weeks, raising concerns that it will take several months for the outbreak to peak.
"We have to get in front of this," said Anne Rimoin, an epidemiology professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. Action stemming from that declaration needs to be urgent, including increased vaccination, testing, isolation for those infected and contact tracing, global health experts said.
Monkeypox has been a globally neglected public health problem in parts of Africa for decades, but cases began to be reported outside countries where it is endemic in May. "I remember clearly ... saying that 'I think I'm going to die,' because I can't eat, I can't drink. I can't even swallow my own spit," said Harun Tulunay, 35, a sexual health advocate who was hospitalized with monkeypox in London earlier this month but has since recovered.While monkeypox is not causing large numbers of deaths globally, an unpleasant virus establishing itself in new populations is still bad news, scientists said.
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