Tag: outbreak

Monkeypox Outbreak Declared a Public Health Emergency

On August 4, 2022, the Biden administration declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency. This comes at a time where the number of cases in the United States are rapidly rising and with cases found in almost every state. This declaration primarily affects testing and vaccination. The government’s focus on vaccination has primarily been on health care workers treating monkeypox patients and men who have sex with men. The declaration follows the World Health Organization’s (WHO) declaration last month of monkeypox as a public health emergency of international concern.

The information affecting the workplace is still somewhat limited. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people with monkeypox remain isolated at home or in another location for the duration of the illness, which typically can last two to four weeks.

It is still not known if monkeypox can be spread through respiratory secretions. Accordingly, a well-fitting mask and frequent handwashing are likely important preventive measures.

Monkeypox can spread to anyone through close, personal, often skin-to-skin contact, including:

  • via direct contact with monkeypox rash, scabs, or body fluids from a person with monkeypox;

  • by touching objects, fabrics (clothing, bedding, or towels), and surfaces that have been used by someone with monkeypox; and

  • possibly through contact with respiratory secretions.

Employers may wish to educate their employees about monkeypox, including that employees with concerns should consult their physicians or health department, and may wish to inquire about testing and vaccination. Employers may also wish to consider how they will handle absences of up to one month, if remote work is not a possibility and/or when remote work is a possibility. Knowledge is often a way to avoid panic in the workplace and both the CDC and WHO have excellent fact sheets on their websites. State health agencies are likely to have them as well.

It may also be worthwhile to consider how to protect employees who are required to handle linens used by other people, people who are frequently in close contact with others for extended periods, or who come into close physical contact with others. For example, in its monkeypox congregate settings guidelines, the CDC recommends that personal protective equipment (PPE) be worn when cleaning the area where an individual with monkeypox has spent time.

The CDC also stated in its monkeypox congregate settings guidelines that “[e]mployers must comply with [the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s] standards on Bloodborne Pathogens…, PPE…, Respiratory Protection…, and other requirements, including those established by state plans, whenever these requirements apply.”

Public health officials are emphasizing the fact that anyone can get monkeypox. The current outbreak is most prevalent among men having sex with other men, but can spread to anyone. Employers may want to stay attuned to any harassment or discrimination in the workplace resulting from misinformation about the disease.

Ogletree Deakins will continue to monitor and report on developments with respect to monkeypox.

Article By Katherine Dudley Helms of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.

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© 2022, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., All Rights Reserved.

President Obama’s Response to the Ebola Crisis

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, December 30, 2013 was epidemiological week 1 for the current Ebola crisis in West Africa.  Since that date, more than 4,985 cases — 2,461 of which have resulted in death — have been confirmed or suspected.

Today, nine months after the epidemic’s outbreak, President Obama has made an overdue announcement that the U.S. will deploy an estimated 3,000 troops in an effort to stem the crisis.  The response is certainly welcome but it remains far from certain that an intervention by the U.S. military will be sufficient to defeat this deadly epidemic.

President Obama is right to characterize the Ebola outbreak as a top national security priority for the U.S., and the past is instructive for what we might be dealing with in this situation.

The last time that the U.S. declared a health emergency to be a threat to U.S. national security was in 2000, when the Clinton administration designated HIV/AIDS as a threat that could undermine governments, lead to conflict and weaken progress on democracy and economic growth.  At that time, the Clinton Administration doubled its budget request to combat HIV/AIDS internationally to $254 million.  However, it was not until 2003 when President George W. Bush requested from Congress $15 billion over five years that the U.S. began to turn the tide of that deadly pandemic.  It was still another two years before medicines became widely available to those infected with HIV and, in 2008, PEPFAR was reauthorized for $48 billion for another five years.

To date, the Obama administration has spent $175 million to address the rapidly spreading Ebola crisis in West Africa.  This is likely to be a fraction of the ultimate cost required to defeat this disease.  Recent estimates from the United Nations place the costs around $1 billion.

In addition to involving the U.S. military, President Obama has committed the U.S. to the construction of 17 treatment centers (each of which will have 100  beds) in Liberia and the establishment of a site to train up to 500 local health care providers per week.  In terms of containing this deadly disease, this “whole of government” response from the Obama Administration is a good, if belated, start.  However, key questions remain.

It is not clear how long the strategy will take to implement and, according to international health officials who spoke with The New York Times, 1,000 beds are needed in the next week alone to contain the spread of the disease.  It also is not clear how the U.S. will work with the governments of Sierra Leone and Guinea, as nearly half the cases reported come from those two countries, nor Nigeria and Senegal who also have reported cases.

Over the weekend, chief executives from 11 companies operating in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea made an urgent appeal to the international community to pool its resources to fight Ebola.  It is an important development that the U.S. is moving forward with a more aggressive response to this plea.  Yet victory will likely require a “whole of community” response from all stakeholders, including governments, businesses, NGOs and others, who want to see the governments of West Africa defeat this deadly scourge.

ARTICLE BY

Witney Schneidman
OF
Covington & Burling LLP