U.S. expects monkeypox cases to continue climbing through August

LOS ANGELES, July 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. federal health officials warned the number of monkeypox cases in the country will continue to climb through at least August.

As of Friday, a total of 1,814 confirmed monkeypox cases have been reported in the country, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

New York had the most cases, with 489, followed by California with 266 and Illinois with 174, CDC data showed.

"Now as we closely monitor cases, I would like you to all understand that we anticipate an increase in cases in the coming weeks" due to better testing for the disease and streamlined paperwork for states to report new cases to the Biden administration, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said on Friday.

Health experts said that given the testing bottlenecks in the United States, monkeypox cases are likely being undercounted.

"We know monkeypox's symptoms usually start within three weeks of exposure to the virus. So we anticipate we may see an increase in cases throughout the month of July and then to August," Walensky said.