What about treatments?

An antiviral called TPOXX is available to patients with monkeypox, though it has been hard to access during the outbreak.

TPOXX was initially approved to treat smallpox, which kills 30% to 50% of its victims and has been studied only in healthy people, not those who are infected with monkeypox.

Califf said it is “critical” to collect data on how the antiviral is performing during the outbreak, and the FDA plans a clinical trial.