NEW YORK (1010 WINS)-- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Tuesday that it has activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in response to the growing number of monkeypox cases.
The agency said in a press release that it "continues to lean forward with an aggressive public health response to the monkeypox outbreak by activating its Emergency Operations Center."
The United States now has over 243 cases, according to the CDC. The global number has now passed 4,000 cases.
The CDC’s command center will step up in monitoring and coordinating the emergency response to monkeypox and add additional CDC personnel and resources to meet the outbreak’s evolving challenges.
“It is home to more than 300 CDC staff working in collaboration with local, national, and international response partners on public health challenges,” the CDC said. "CDC’s activation of the EOC allows the agency to further increase operational support for the response to meet the outbreak’s evolving challenges."
Global statistics indicate that gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men make up a high number of monkeypox cases, according to the CDC. It is now raising awareness of the current situation with the public through its website and social media.
The number of suspected monkeypox cases in New York City has nearly doubled in the past week, with health officials reporting a total of 55 presumed cases on Tuesday.
The CDC has been encouraging health care providers to consider testing for all rashes with clinical suspicion of monkeypox and suggests that anyone who has risk factors for monkeypox, and a new rash should seek care and testing. It has also increased its testing capacity by shipping out orthopoxvirus tests to commercial laboratory companies.
“This development will facilitate increased testing, leverage established relationships between clinics, hospitals, and commercial laboratories, and support our ability to better understand the scope of the current monkeypox outbreak,” the press release stated.
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