So what is the US government doing in response to this deadly disease? Virtually nothing. The quick spread of the virus is indicative of what may come when universities enter the fall semester to spread not one, but two pandemics at the same time as COVID-19 continues to rampage without control. The WHO notes that recent monkeypox outbreaks, confined largely to the African continent, have had a 3–6 percent fatality rate, putting it above the rate of around 2 percent for SARS-CoV-2. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states on its website that young children under eight years old, pregnant women, immunocompromised people and those with a history of dermatitis or eczema are at increased risk for severe outcomes from monkeypox. Additionally, contrary to attempts to portray monkeypox as a disease limited to gay and bisexual men, it is in fact communicable to everyone. UC Berkeley’s six cases bring Alameda County’s total to 38.Ĭontrary to the messaging of the corporate media and health officials, monkeypox is highly contagious and there is evidence that it may be airborne as well. The Alameda County Health Department has confirmed 32 cases in Alameda County, which includes Berkeley, Oakland and Fremont, as of Tuesday, out of 356 total in California. In California, the Berkeley Health Department confirmed six unrelated cases of monkeypox. UT senior Sophie Gendron told Community Impact Newspaper that “I didn’t even find out about the first monkeypox case from the university I found out through social media.” As of July 21, Austin Public Health identified nine monkeypox cases in Travis County, where Austin is located, with 20 presumptive cases. However, many students feel the university has not released enough information and have no plans for the upcoming fall semester. After the first case was confirmed at UT Austin, the university’s Health Services Associate Director Susan Hochman claimed the risk of transmission remained low and officials were working to mitigate the risk to students.
We cannot accept doing nothing.”Īmerican universities have been caught wholly unprepared for outbreaks. Public health activist Laura Miers tweeted concernedly about the spread of the virus and the lack of any serious response by the government, noting “So, monkeypox-a virus that can cause blindness, disfigurement, extreme complications, & death-has been reported on at least 5 college campuses & in county jails. The US currently holds the global record for most monkeypox cases. According to on Twitter, 20,000 cases have been identified around the world with US cases jumping 1,900 percent from 244 to 4,639 in just one month. The US reported 1,048 new monkeypox cases Thursday, the biggest one-day increase on record according to BNO News. The monkeypox virus is spreading on an unprecedented level throughout the United States and the world, already constituting a pandemic.
#West chester university skin
This 2003 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virions, left, and spherical immature virions, right, obtained from a sample of human skin associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak.