FEATURE
Strengthening the Global Community Through Laboratory Surveillance
By Jill Sakai , PhD , writer
In May , a small cluster of monkeypox cases was identified in the United Kingdom . Global public health agencies acted quickly , monitoring the outbreak from its earliest days and gearing up for possible wider testing needs .
Emerging amid the spread of yet another variant of
SARS- CoV-2 , the monkeypox outbreak feels a bit like a test of how well public health agencies have learned the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic . The past few years have made clear that global collaboration and communication are critical for identifying and managing public health risks , and that a strong system of public health laboratories — in the US and abroad — is central to these surveillance efforts .
That global perspective is a critical foundation for successful public health efforts domestically .
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