(Reuters) -The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday it plans to make the rapidly spreading monkeypox disease a nationally notifiable condition.
The designation, which is set to take effect on Aug. 1, updates criteria for reporting of data on cases by states to the agency and would allow the agency to monitor and respond to monkeypox even after the current outbreak recedes, the CDC said.
Over 3,500 monkeypox cases were reported in the United States as of Tuesday, according to the CDC. (https://bit.ly/3zc7qXz)
States will be required to report confirmed or probable monkeypox cases within 24 hours. The CDC asked for data to be shared even before the investigation of a case was completed.
State health departments are currently not required to provide the federal government with standardized data on monkeypox.
The disease, which causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions, has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization.
(Reporting by Leroy Leo and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
