Biden voices ‘concern’ over monkeypox outbreak: ‘It would be consequential’
President Biden voiced concern about monkeypox on Sunday, giving his first public remarks on the disease that has been detected in New York and other parts of the world.
“It is a concern in that if it were to spread, it would be consequential,” he told reporters at Osan Air Base in South Korea before flying to Japan.
“They haven’t told me the level of exposure yet, but it is something that everybody should be concerned about,” Biden added.
A Big Apple resident tested positive for monkeypox, state health officials said Friday. They tested another possible New York City case that turned out to be negative. A monkeypox case was confirmed in Massachusetts on Wednesday.
The disease is not usually seen outside Africa. It belongs to the same family as smallpox, but has milder symptoms that include fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A rash and lesions follow the onset of a fever. Monkeypox can last from two to four weeks and has been known to be fatal in one in 10 people afflicted, the CDC said.
Cases have been detected in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Italy, London, Portugal and Spain — but is not expected to cause a worldwide pandemic on par with coronavirus, Axios noted.
Improvements to global systems for monitoring infectious diseases have helped authorities zero in on monkeypox, according to Daniel Bausch, head of the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene.
The U.S. has a supply of “vaccine that is relevant to treating monkeypox,” U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on the flight to Tokyo.
“We have vaccine available to be deployed for that purpose,” he said, noting Biden has been getting updates on the outbreak.
President Biden speaks before boarding Air Force One for a trip to Japan at Osan Air Base, Sunday, May 22, 2022, in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Evan Vucci/)
Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID response coordinator, echoed the president’s remarks.
“Anytime we have an infectious disease outbreak like this we should all be paying attention,” Jha told ABC’s “This Week.” “But I feel like this is a virus we understand. We have vaccines against it, we have treatments against it and it spreads very differently than SARS-CoV-2.
“It’s not as contagious as COVID,” he continued. “So I am confident we’re going to be able to keep our arms around it, but we’re going to track it very closely and use the tools we have to make sure that we continue to prevent further spread and take care of the people who get infected.”
The U.S. had a monkeypox outbreak with dozens of cases in 2003, according to the New York Times. Authorities believed all the cases resulted from exposure to infected animals.
Biden is on his first trip to Asia as president, with the goal of boosting U.S. ties to the Pacific region as China continues to gain power and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine unnerves leaders around the world.
He landed in South Korea for a three-day visit on Friday, promising a return to the U.S. policy of trying to contain North Korea. He and South Korea’s new President Yoon Suk-yeol said they would explore an expansion of joint military exercises.
Asked if he had a message for North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, Biden gave a terse answer.
“Hello. Period,” he said.
That marked a strong contrast with former President Donald Trump’s efforts to woo Kim, including an infamous 2018 profession of his “love” for the despot.
With News Wire Services
