Among other things, the measure aims to free up federal funds to fight the virus. There are now about 6,600 cases in the United States.
The US government has declared a national health emergency because of the spread of smallpox. The move should, among other things, free up federal funds to fight the virus. “We stand ready to take our response to this virus to the next level and we urge all Americans to take smallpox seriously and take responsibility,” US Health Secretary Xavier Becerra said Thursday.
In view of the rapid spread of smallpox, the WHO declared the highest alert level nearly two weeks ago. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the outbreak was an “emergency of international concern”. The international spread of the infectious disease is uncommon. So far, it has been essentially limited to six African countries.
6600 cases reported in the US
According to the Department of Health, there are now about 6,600 cases in the United States. About 1.1 million doses of vaccine would be made available to people in the country, Becerra said. He announced that testing capacities would be increased to 80,000 per week. Individual US states and major cities such as the state of New York and San Francisco, California had already declared a state of emergency and asked for federal help.
Currently, the outbreak is largely focused on men who have sex with men. However, according to the US health authority CDC, cases in children have already been confirmed in the United States. Monkeypox infection can cause a rash, swollen lymph nodes, fever, chills and muscle aches. As a rule, the disease is not fatal, but the first two European deaths in Spain were known last Friday and Saturday.
(APA/dpa)