On July 23rd, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared monkeypox an international public health emergency. BUT...
What is monkeypox? What are the symptoms? How concerned should Americans be?
WHAT IS MONKEYPOX? WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF MONKEYPOX?
Monkeypox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus, which belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox.
Symptoms include: Fever, Headache, Chills, Fatigue, Body Aches, and Swollen Lymph Nodes.
Like other viral infections, monkeypox spreads via close contact with respiratory droplets, bodily fluids, blood, or lesions of infected persons or animals. The virus can also persist on surfaces and materials.
WHO Director-General has designated the growing monkeypox outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Assigning a health-related emergency as a PHEIC is the highest level of alert that can be issued.
The U.S. government has not yet raised the alert level to match WHO’s warnings for monkeypox. According to Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, the administration is weighing its options.