Health News Roundup: Third possible case of monkeypox found in the U.S; North Korea's fever cases under 200,000 for 2nd day amid silence on aid offer and more

As of Saturday, 92 confirmed cases and 28 suspected cases of monkeypox have been reported from 12 member states that are not endemic for the virus, the U.N. agency said, adding it will provide further guidance and recommendations in coming days for countries on how to mitigate the spread of monkeypox. Explainer-How concerned should we be about monkeypox? Global health officials have sounded the alarm over rising cases in Europe and elsewhere of monkeypox, a type of viral infection more common to west and central Africa.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Third possible case of monkeypox found in the U.S

Health authorities said they may have found a third case of the monkeypox virus in the United States and are running tests on a patient in South Florida to confirm if the person has contracted the disease, which is staging a rare outbreak outside of Africa. The case in Broward County, Florida, is "related to international travel," the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the Florida Department of Health said in a statement on Sunday, "and the person remains isolated."

North Korea's fever cases under 200,000 for 2nd day amid silence on aid offer

North Korea's daily fever cases stayed below 200,000 for the second day in a row, state media said on Monday, as Pyongyang remained silent on South Korean and U.S. offers to help fight its first confirmed COVID-19 outbreak. The COVID wave declared on May 12, has fuelled concerns over a lack of vaccines, inadequate medical infrastructure, and a potential food crisis in the country of 25 million.

Drugmakers propose swift pandemic response benefiting poorer countries

Global drugmakers are lobbying for wealthy nations to fund a supply mechanism that would secure vaccines for low-income countries without delay in case of a new pandemic but said the proposal was contingent on free cross-border trade.

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) said in a statement on Monday that global pandemic vaccine distribution needs to be put on a new footing because the world’s poorest countries were forced to wait for shots during the current pandemic.

Shanghai reopens some public transport, still on high COVID alert

Shanghai reopened a small part of the world's longest subway system on Sunday after some lines had been closed for almost two months, as the city paves the way for a more complete lifting of its painful COVID-19 lockdown next week. With most residents not allowed to leave their homes and restrictions tightening in parts of China's most populous city, commuters early on Sunday needed strong reasons to travel.

White House sees decision on Moderna COVID shot for kids under 5 in next few weeks

White House COVID-19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said on Sunday he expects a U.S. Food and Drug Administration decision on authorizing Moderna's vaccine for children under age five within the next few weeks. Moderna completed its application and FDA experts are looking closely at the data, Jha said on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, adding that the analysis is likely to be completed in the next few weeks and that a final decision would follow a meeting of the agency's expert advisers.

WHO expects more cases of monkeypox to emerge globally

The World Health Organization said it expects to identify more cases of monkeypox as it expands surveillance in countries where the disease is not typically found. As of Saturday, 92 confirmed cases and 28 suspected cases of monkeypox have been reported from 12 member states that are not endemic for the virus, the U.N. agency said, adding it will provide further guidance and recommendations in coming days for countries on how to mitigate the spread of monkeypox.

Explainer-How concerned should we be about monkeypox?

Global health officials have sounded the alarm over rising cases in Europe and elsewhere of monkeypox, a type of viral infection more common in the west and central Africa. As of Saturday, 92 confirmed cases and 28 suspected cases of monkeypox have been reported from 12 member states that are not endemic to the virus, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Fate of ancient Athens guides WHO at gathering to plan for next pandemic

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), will have history on his mind when he hosts almost 200 member states at the U.N agency's annual assembly this week. In a recent white paper laying out his plans for the future of global health security, Tedros began by quoting ancient Greek historian Thucydides, who wanted the world to learn from the mistakes of a devastating plague in Athens in 430 BC.

(With inputs from agencies.)