Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
WHO Says Monkeypox Outbreak Still Stoppable, Prepares For Bigger One
CNBC: WHO Can’t Rule Out Monkeypox Pandemic Risk, Says There’s A Window Of Opportunity To Stop Outbreak
The World Health Organization said Monday that it is too soon to tell whether a recent monkeypox outbreak could lead to a global pandemic, but noted that there is currently a window of opportunity to curb rising cases. The public health body said there are “still many unknowns” related to the spike in cases in non-endemic countries outside of Africa. The WHO said the virus should not be mistaken for Covid-19 and that the risks to the general public remain low. “We don’t want people to panic or be afraid and think that it’s like Covid or maybe worse,” Sylvie Briand, the WHO’s director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention, said during a briefing on the outbreak. (Gilchrist, 5/30)
CNN: Monkeypox: Plans Underway To Ramp Up Testing If Outbreak Grows Quickly
As more cases are uncovered in a global monkeypox outbreak, biotech companies and health officials are looking to make PCR testing for the virus more widely available in the US. Dozens of public health labs across the country now use a more generalized test for orthopoxvirus, a larger category that includes monkeypox, smallpox and other viruses. Two biotechnology companies, Roche and Abbott, have announced plans to roll out monkeypox PCR tests, although right now, their test kits are for research only. (Howard and Nedelman, 5/30)
Fox News: WHO: Nearly 200 Cases Of Monkeypox Virus Across More Than 20 Countries
The World Health Organization (WHO) says nearly 200 cases of monkeypox have been tallied globally. The cases have been found in more than 20 countries not usually known to have outbreaks of the virus. The agency still described the reported monkeypox outbreaks as "containable," although there are still many unknowns about what triggered the infections and the reported cases are likely an undercount. Dr. Sylvie Briand, WHO’s director of pandemic and epidemic diseases, explained that numbers may increase in the coming days and that the event is "unusual." (Musto, 5/27)
BBC News: Monkeypox Infections Rise As Guidance Advises Cases To Abstain From Sex
Another 71 cases of monkeypox have been identified in England over the weekend bringing the UK total to 179, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says. New guidance is advising anyone with the virus to abstain from sex while they have symptoms. They are also told to use condoms for eight weeks after an infection as a precaution. (Reed, 5/30)
Reuters: People Infected With Monkeypox Can Isolate At Home - UKHSA
People infected with monkeypox can isolate at home if they remain well enough, whilst following measures to limit close contact with others, the UK's health security agency (UKHSA) said on Monday, part of guidance designed to curb the country's rise in cases of the viral illness. (Grover, 5/30)
The Atlantic: Gay Men Need A Specific Warning About Monkeypox
A disproportionate number of cases in the recent monkeypox outbreak have shown up among gay and bisexual men. And as public-health authorities investigate possible links to sexual or other close physical contact at a Pride event in the Canary Islands, a sauna in Madrid, and other gay venues in Europe, government officials are trying hard not to single out a group that endured terrible stigma at the height of America’s AIDS crisis. “Experience shows that stigmatizing rhetoric can quickly disable evidence-based response by stoking cycles of fear, driving people away from health services, impeding efforts to identify cases, and encouraging ineffective, punitive measures,” Matthew Kavanagh, the deputy executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, recently said. For many years, following the outbreak of HIV, the fear of being judged or shamed has dissuaded some gay men from being tested. (Downs, 5/28)
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The Boston Globe: How A Boston Doctor Diagnosed The First US Case Of Monkeypox
The doctor was puzzled. His patient had ordinary symptoms that many infections could cause – fever, sweating, swollen lymph nodes, and a rash. But the usual tests yielded no answers. And the usual medications didn’t make him better. Concerned about his worsening condition and the lack of a diagnosis, Dr. Benjamin Davis admitted his patient to Massachusetts General Hospital, where a team led by Dr. Nesli Basgoz, an infectious disease specialist, took over his care. Now he was Basgoz’s puzzle to solve. What happened next would challenge the team’s diagnostic skills and test two decades of preparations for the spread of new and exotic diseases around the globe, diseases like COVID-19. (Freyer, 5/29)
