White House appoints coordinator for U.S. smallpox response

The White House on Tuesday named Robert Fenton, a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official, as the coordinator of the response to simian smallpox.

Fenton’s appointment to head the new team comes as the virus spreads in the United States and the administration of President Joe Biden seeks to intensify the government’s response to the health situation.

Along with Fenton, U.S. officials have appointed Demetre Daskalakis, an employee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as deputy coordinator, according to ‘The Hill’.

“We look forward to partnering with Bob Fenton and Demetre Daskalakis as we work to end the smallpox outbreak in the United States,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.

This step by the Biden Administration comes at a time when it is receiving criticism for its slow response to the spread of the virus, which left its first case on U.S. soil in May and by now has already claimed several lives outside the African continent.

In this context, states such as California, Illinois and New York have in recent days declared a health emergency because of smallpox. As of today, the United States already has more than 5,800 infections with the virus.

“Over the coming weeks, under the leadership of Fenton and Daskalakis, the Administration will advance and accelerate the U.S. response to smallpox to mitigate its spread, protect those most at risk of contracting the virus, and care for those who have contracted it,” the White House said.

Smallpox is a viral zoonosis, that is, a disease caused by viruses transmitted from animals to humans, which produces symptoms similar to those seen in smallpox patients in the past, although less severe, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) on its website.

The agency, which in late July declared the disease a public health emergency of international concern, notes that monkeypox “occurs mainly in tropical rainforest areas of Central and West Africa and is sporadically exported to other regions.”