PRESIDENT Joe Biden says recent cases of monkeypox that have been identified in Europe and the United States are something “to be concerned about”.
The infection is a rare virus, spread from dead or diseased animals in west or central Africa. Symptoms including a fever and a rash will develop on day one to five.
In his first public comments on the disease, Biden added: “It is a concern in that if it were to spread it would be consequential.”
The president was asked about the disease as he spoke to reporters at Osan Air Base in South Korea, where he visited troops before taking off for Japan to continue his first trip to Asia as president.
“They haven’t told me the level of exposure yet but it is something that everybody should be concerned about,” Biden said.
He added that work is under way to determine what vaccine might be effective.
Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, told reporters on board a flight to Tokyo that the US has a supply of “vaccine that is relevant to treating monkeypox”.
“We have vaccine available to be deployed for that purpose,” he said.
Sullivan said Biden was getting regular updates on the outbreak.
Monkeypox is rarely identified outside of Africa but, as of Friday, there were 80 confirmed cases worldwide, including 20 in the UK, at least two in the US, and another 50 suspected ones.
Although the disease belongs to the same virus family as smallpox, its symptoms are milder.
People usually recover within two to four weeks without needing to be admitted to hospital, but the disease occasionally is deadly.
on Friday, Scotland’s chief medical officer told people to “take a breath and calm down” over cases of monkeypox in England.
Speaking to STV News, Professor Jason Leitch reassured viewers there are no cases of the virus in Scotland.
Leitch said: “There are no cases in Scotland so the first and most important thing is: everybody just needs to stop, take a breath and calm down.
“It’s still quite small numbers.
“What happens is, it’s quite an infectious virus, not as infectious or as airborne as Covid and things we’re used to like flu, but it can move from person to person.
“You need to be pretty close, it’s droplet spread, so it’s families, it’s sexual partners, it’s people who are in very close proximity.
“You get general fever, the kind of viral disease, but you also get a rash.
“If that happens or if you’re concerned, you should contact a health professional.”
He advised viewers that teams were in close contact with colleagues in England and in Europe to monitor cases.
