The current official US monkeypox total is 1,972 cases, up 158 cases from yesterday, from 45 affected states and territories.
Over the past 5 days, monkeypox cases have doubled, to 490 cases, in New York, while Washington, DC, has the highest per capita rate, followed by New York, Illinois, and California. Health officials in DC have said there has been overwhelming interest in the vaccine and treatments for the poxvirus.
Even in cities not experiencing large outbreaks, such as Detroit, symptom recognition among providers and an overburdened healthcare system depleted by COVID-19 are making swift diagnosis and treatment difficult.
In the Detroit Free Press, some patients recount visiting seven different clinics or hospitals before getting swabbed for the virus. And the longer time between symptom onset and diagnosis means more opportunities for the case-patient to spread the virus.
Streamlining Tpoxx prescriptions
Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new information to clinicians about prescribing Tpoxx, an antiviral treatment approved to treat smallpox in the United States and monkeypox in Europe.
In an effort to remove the red tape that comes from prescribing a drug from the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), the CDC said forms and other documentation required for obtaining Tpoxx can be submitted after clinicians receive the drug and begin patient treatment.
"The prior requirements to photographically document lesions and to collect and ship specimens to CDC are now optional," the CDC said in an email. "Healthcare providers can begin administering TPOXX as soon as they obtain informed consent from the patient. Additional modifications are being worked out with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and will be announced soon."
Tpoxx is administered over the course of 2 weeks, with patients taking several pills daily. According to National Public Radio, there is enough Tpoxx for 1.7 million people in the SNS. With the current prescription model, for each patient given the medicine, a clinician completes 3 to 4 hours of paperwork.
Globally, the outbreak stands at 13,436 cases. The United States now has the third most cases, behind Spain (2,835) and Germany (2,033) and slightly ahead of the United Kingdom (1,856).
