New York City officials on Saturday declared a public health emergency due to the spread of the monkeypox virus, calling the city the “epicenter” of the outbreak.
The announcement by Mayor Eric Adams and Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan said up to 150,000 city residents could be at risk of infection. The declaration will allow officials to issue emergency orders under the city’s health code and implement measures to help slow the spread.
“We will continue to work with our federal partners to secure more [vaccine] doses as soon as they are available,” Adams and Vasan said in the statement. “This outbreak must be met with urgency, action and resources, both nationally and globally, and this public health emergency declaration reflects the gravity of the moment.”
In the past two days, New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state disaster emergency declaration and the state health department called monkeypox an “imminent public health threat “.
New York had recorded 1,345 cases as of Friday, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California was second, with 799.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared monkeypox a global health emergency on July 23, and the mayor of San Francisco announced a state of emergency on Thursday over the growing number of cases.
The once-rare disease has been established in parts of central and western Africa for decades, but it was not known to trigger large outbreaks beyond the continent or spread widely among people until May, when authorities detected dozens of outbreaks in Europe, North America and elsewhere. .
So far, more than 22,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in nearly 80 countries since May, with about 75 suspected deaths in Africa, mainly in Nigeria and Congo. On Friday, Brazil and Spain reported monkeypox-related deaths, the first to be reported outside Africa. Spain reported a second smallpox death on Saturday.
The virus is spread through close and prolonged skin-to-skin contact, as well as sharing bedding, towels and clothing. In Europe and North America, it has spread mainly among men who have sex with men, although health officials stress that the virus can infect anyone.
The type of monkeypox virus identified in this outbreak is rarely fatal, and people usually recover within a few weeks, but the lesions and blisters caused by the virus are painful. The virus is of greater concern among vulnerable people, such as those with weakened immune systems or those who are pregnant.