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LINK Fauci: Monkeypox outbreak needs to be taken more seriously as virus continues to spread

By Carma Hassan and Aya Elamroussi, CNN

As cases of monkeypox continue to rise in the US, a top health official is stressing the outbreak needs to be handled in a more rigorous manner.

"This is something we definitely need to take seriously. We don't know the scope and the potential of it yet, but we have to act like it will have the capability of spreading much more widely than it's spreading right now," Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN Saturday.

Monkeypox has been detected throughout most of the U.S., with the exception of a handful of states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The states with the most cases include New York, California, Illinois and Florida.

The latest data shows the CDC has tracked at least 1,814 probable or confirmed cases in the U.S., as of Friday.

Fauci, who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, told CNN that those numbers are "very likely an undercount."

"Whenever you have the emergence of something like this, you are always probably looking at what might be -- might be, we don't know -- the tip of the iceberg, so that's the reason why we've got to get the testing out there in a much, much more vigorous way," Fauci said Saturday.

Monkeypox is a poxvirus, related to smallpox and cowpox. The virus generally causes pimple or blister-like lesions and flu-like symptoms such as fever, the CDC explained.

The lesions typically concentrate on the arms and legs, but in the latest outbreak, they're showing up more frequently on the genital and perianal area, which has raised some concerns that monkeypox lesions may be confused with sexually transmitted disease.

The virus spreads through close contact -- including direct physical contact with lesions as well as "respiratory secretions" shared through face-to-face interaction. Touching objects that have been contaminated by monkeypox lesions or fluids may also risk the spread.

And although monkeypox is not an STD, it has mostly been spreading among men who have sex with men.

On Saturday, Fauci said more testing will be done with five commercial testing laboratories coming online, and he expects up to 700,000 vaccines will be distributed to communities by the end of July.

"Because you want to protect the people at risk, not only the people who might have had an exposure that they know of, but also people, by the virtue of the fact that they're in a risk situation, that they need to get vaccinated," he noted.

The U.S. has more than tripled its monkeypox vaccine doses since last week, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. But that supply remains short of what's needed to help control the spread.

HippieChick58 9 July 17
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4 comments

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1

Aaahhh, yeeeasss, don't worry, it's pretty much confined to man-on-man action.
Never heard That before, have we?

1

One would think after one global and serious pandemic with the loss of millions of lives and even more millions becoming extremely sick often with chronic maladies, we would be more cautious. Instead too many insanely stupid people see the pandemic as a sort of government overreach. This only opens the door to more epidemics and/or pandemics

6 million over 2 years out of a population of 7 billion is the fatality rate.
Do you consider Canada's freezing of bank accounts of those who supported the trucker protest government overreach? Being denied access to loved ones or being banned from returning or leaving your country and even state overreach? (especially considering all these restrictions did not apply to those "privileged" )

2

I wonder why folks with so much less experience and knowledge like to not pay attention or attack the messenger? It's a rhetorical question.

2

I am not a fan of Fauci and his support of gain of function research and active suppression of dissenting voices, expert voices also with expertise with pandemic diseases/ viruses. His ties to big pharma.

That being said and put aside, I think all Fauci/ CDC/ WHO types really need to familiarise themselves with a favourite Aesop's fable of mine, "The boy who cried wolf".
When a real pandemic comes, people may not listen.

puff Level 8 July 17, 2022

And how would they know it was 'real?' Seems the whole issue has become so politicized no one trusts anyone with even the slightest credentials. To some conspiracy theorist have more credentials than learned and experienced scientists.

@JackPedigo I like the old definition of pandemic; >5% fatality rate.

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