Oregon has now recorded six monkeypox cases, raising concerns about the potential of “one other public health emergency.”
In line with Dr. Tim Menza, a senior health advisor with the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), the most recent two cases were identified Thursday morning in Washington County, causing health officials to expect more in the approaching weeks.
In response to the brand new cases, Menza opened a press conference concerning the disease on Thursday, where he acknowledged the challenge of facing one other public health emergency.
“I point this out to not say that men who’ve sex with men are the one people in danger for (the virus), but that immediately our priority needs to be empowering men who’ve sex with men and the larger LGBTQIA+ and queer community and their health care providers with information, testing, prevention and treatment strategies,” Menza said in a press release.
OHA will henceforth allow health care providers to send monkeypox tests on to the Oregon state public health lab without prior approval.
While Oregon’s supply of vaccines has been limited, federal allocations to OHA have been arriving in recent days and are expected to extend. Menza hopes the vaccines could expand beyond people exposed to the virus.
The federal government announced last week that it might be releasing more doses of the monkeypox vaccine.
“As we now have more vaccines available, there’s also the chance to vaccinate folks who can have attended events or traveled to places where transmission is probably going or has already been documented,” Menza said.
The state is offering antiviral treatment to individuals with or at risk for severe disease. This includes pregnant women, individuals with compromised immune systems and atopic dermatitis, and kids below 8 years old.
Other than the brand new Washington County cases, there are currently three cases in Lane County and one known case in Multnomah County, the primary one identified within the state. No deaths have been reported up to now.
With private labs starting to supply testing in the approaching weeks, diagnostic tests will develop into more accessible for everybody.