U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As more monkeypox virus (MPV) cases spring up across the country, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) is leading a group of Democratic senators in a letter urging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O’Connell to improve MPV awareness and education among the general public and health care providers.
In the letter to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky and HHS Assistant Secretary Dawn O’Connell, the senators write “Our response to COVID-19 highlighted the importance of clear and early communication from public health experts. It’s imperative that we apply this lesson to improve MPV awareness and education among the general public and health care providers.”
According to the CDC, there are 8,934 cases confirmed in the United States, with more cases likely to be identified as testing increases. It is critical that providers receive the additional resources they may need to care for patients, and that general public has accurate and up-to-date information about how to stop the spread of MPV.
Many providers lack familiarity in identifying and treating MPV infections, resulting in some patients seeing multiple health care professionals in order to be tested. This may lead to an increased infection risk for patients and increased spread within their families and providers.
The senators are also calling on the CDS and HHS to ensure that the general public understands that MPV can spread among any population through direct contact with lesions, use of shared objects, and respiratory secretions in extended periods of close contact.
The letter was signed by U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.).
Read the full text of the letter here.
