Two months after the United States’ first monkeypox case was confirmed, the total has risen to about 2,900. But details about those cases and other epidemiological data aren’t spreading nearly as quickly as the virus itself, leaving holes in the response.
“It’s a new and really fast-moving outbreak, and I think there have been some challenges around having a smooth and efficient way for the data to be sent from jurisdictions” to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Janet Hamilton, executive director of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists.
The CDC only recently shared a first public look at monkeypox case demographics, which showed that the vast majority of cases have been among men who have sex with men, with a median age of 36.
But the agency has detailed information on only about half of the reported cases, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said.
Monkeypox is now a reportable disease, which means public health departments work with local health care providers to collect information about people who are diagnosed and how they became ill.
But it is still completely voluntary for states to share data on monkeypox with the CDC.
CNN reached out to the health departments of all 50 states; 29 responded, and they all said they are committed to sharing case data with the CDC.
Some, however, said that they are collecting more information than they share.
As the US battles another public health challenge amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Walensky said she is “struck” by “how little authority we at CDC have to receive the data.”
“We very much want to get as much information and informed decisions out to the American public as possible. And yet again, like we were for Covid, we are again really challenged by the fact that we at the agency have no authority to receive those data. We’re working on that right now,” she said in a conversation with The Washington Post on Friday.
Source: cnn.com