According to the US CDC director, new monkeypox cases in the United States have been steadily dropping in recent weeks, with monkeypox cases reported in the first week of September 2022 decreasing by around half of what they were at the peak.
But the recent monkeypox death is a tragic reminder that the monkeypox outbreak is still going and posing risks. David Harvey, executive director of the national Coalition of STD Directors, said there is some hope of these monkeypox cases levelling off, but it should not be solace to anyone that this outbreak has done.
He said they still have to ramp up their efforts to respond to the monkeypox outbreak. There are many data questions, with research questions, clinical care questions that remain to be answered about the very unusual outbreak of a known virus over the decades that presents itself differently in the United States.
Deaths from the monkeypox virus are very rare and often affect people, pregnant women, and babies with weakened immune systems, like HIV. In 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported 22 deaths among around 58,000 monkeypox cases, and around 22,000 of the cases have been reported in the United States.
