Almost all US monkeypox cases have been associated with close contact rather than airborne transmission, US health officials said in response to concerns that the virus might be able to spread as easily as Covid-19.
There has been no evidence that monkeypox spreads through casual interactions like having a conversation or in public places like grocery stores, said Raj Panjabi, White House senior director for global health security and biodefense, on a conference call Friday with reporters.
Concerns about monkeypox are rising as the virus spreads around the globe to more than 1,000 cases. No deaths have been reported. In the US, there were 45 known cases as of Friday.
Most of those are linked to contact with an infected person or travel to another country where cases have been reported, officials said.
The US is working to expand its testing programs with help from private companies, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said on the call.
The US is also working to ramp up supplies of vaccines, even though the Strategic National Stockpile already holds enough doses of Emergent BioSolutions Inc.’s ACAM2000 and Bavarian Nordic A/S’s Jynneos -- both of which can be used against monkeypox -- to vaccinate millions of Americans if deemed necessary, officials said.
