Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday declared the outbreak of measles a statewide public health emergency.
Illinois has the third highest rate of meningitis of any state, behind only New York and California. Pritzker’s declaration, which designates the state as a “disaster area,” will allow public health officials to step up their response to the outbreak, the governor’s office said.
“MPV is a rare, but potentially dangerous disease that requires the full mobilization of all public health resources to prevent its spread,” Pritzker said in a statement.
An interview with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker in Chicago on June 29, 2022. On Monday, Pritzker declared the spread of measles a statewide public health emergency. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
The declaration, which takes effect immediately and is valid for 30 days, allows the state authorities to cooperate effectively and use new tools to fight the disease, the governor’s statement said.
The Illinois Department of Public Health will now be able to expand its immunization and testing capabilities with the help of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and access to state and federal grants and funding, the release said. . The announcement also added that the announcement will help to facilitate the preventive measures.
“These steps will enable the state to use all our resources to fight this disease, and will open up a better communication and collaboration across the state, an important step in tracking the disease and improving the infrastructure and methods to prevent the disease. said Dr. Sameer Vohra, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Pritzker’s emergency announcement follows that of the World Health Organization on July 23. The mayor of San Francisco declared a state of emergency over the virus on Thursday, and the mayor of New York declared one on Saturday.
Illinois is currently reporting 520 confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox, the governor’s statement said. About ten percent of the nation’s cases appear in Illinois.
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Most of the state’s cases took place in Chicago, one of the most violent cities in the country. The city of Chicago has seen a sharp increase in the number of reported cases in the past week, with a total of 326 people reported as of Wednesday.
Chicago does not need a separate emergency declaration because the state’s declaration has closed the city, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the city’s Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwady said in a joint statement.
“This urgent announcement brings serious, focused attention to the outbreaks of Meningitis Virus (MPV) that we are seeing here in Chicago, across our state, and across the country,” the statement added. “Ultimately, however, we need more support from the federal level to address the threat MPVs pose to our city.”
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The virus is spread mostly between men who have sex with other men, public health officials at all levels say. The Chicago Department of Public Health is targeting this group, especially those with multiple or unknown partners, although there is nothing about the disease that limits its spread to men who do sex with men, said Arwady repeatedly.
“Here in Illinois we will ensure that our LGBTQ+ community has the resources they need to live safely while ensuring that members are not stigmatized while receiving essential health care,” Pritzker said.
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The statement said the state has received 7,000 doses of vaccines from the federal government and is expecting 13,000 more doses in the near future. Most of the doses received have already been shared with the Chicago health department.
Health providers and gay men across Chicago have called for a stronger response to the outbreak and more vaccinations in a scarce country. Pritzker called on the federal government to step up efforts to prevent the virus by the end of July. The next day, the Chicago Department of Public Health announced that it would prioritize primary vaccinations with new vaccine kits, a move expected to delay the administration of the second shot.
Monkey measles was first identified in humans in the 1970s and is endemic in West and Central Africa. The disease starts with flu-like symptoms and swollen nodes before progressing to painful, different, large rashes on the body that look like pimples or blisters. Symptoms of monkeypox can last up to four weeks
