The United States has identified 20 confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox in 11 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as public health authorities increase testing in an effort to isolate patients and prevent the virus from spreading in communities.
Overall health risks to the public remain low for now, said Dr. Jennifer McCuston, a CDC official. Most U.S. patients have a history of international travel and likely contracted the virus abroad, McCuston said, but the virus can spread locally.
“There could be community transmission, which is why we really want to increase our monitoring efforts,” McCuston told reporters on Friday’s call. “We really want to encourage clinicians that if they see a rash and they’re concerned it could be monkey pox to go ahead and get that tested,” she said.
At the moment, however, there seems to be a greater risk for gay and bisexual men. Of the 17 patients who provided detailed information to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, McCuston said, 16 patients identified themselves as MSM. Anyone can contract monkeypox through close physical contact, and the CDC is shutting down monitoring of all groups in the United States. However, public health authorities are working to raise awareness in the LGBTQ community, McCuston said.
“Our priority is to help everyone make informed decisions to protect their health and the health of their communities, guided by science,” she said.
McQuiston said no deaths from monkeypox have been reported during the current outbreak in the United States or Europe. She added that all patients are either in recovery or have already recovered. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the West African monkeypox strain is the cause of the current outbreak, which is less severe than another strain known as the Congo Basin.
Fourteen of the 17 patients who provided detailed information had a history of international travel to 11 different countries in the 21 days before developing symptoms, according to the CDC. McCuston said the other three patients either had contact with known cases or did not know how they contracted the virus.
Current monkeypox outbreaks are unusual because they occur in countries in North America and Europe where the virus is usually absent. Monkeypox infection usually occurs in remote areas of western and central Africa, where the virus often spreads from rodents to humans.
The World Health Organization has identified more than 550 cases of monkey pox in 30 countries, most of them in European countries. The sudden rise of monkey pox cases in several countries indicates that the virus has been spreading undetected outside of West and Central Africa for some time, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference in Geneva on Wednesday.
McCuston said some cases of monkeypox in the United States may have gone undetected, but the CDC does not believe the virus is widely spread locally.
The Center for Disease Control said: People with a confirmed or suspected monkeypox infection To isolate at home until local or state health departments say otherwise. Individuals with a confirmed infection should remain in isolation until the skin lesions characteristic of the disease have completely disappeared, the scab has fallen off and a new layer of skin has formed.
Monkeypox usually begins with flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches, chills, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes. Then lesions form on the body and the virus spreads mainly through skin contact with these lesions. In eight cases in the United States, the rash first appeared on the genitals or perianal area. Monkeypox can spread through respiratory droplets if a person has lesions in their throat or mouth, but it is not transmitted as easily.
“The rash caused by the monkeypox virus can spread widely throughout the body or be in sensitive areas such as the genitals. It can be very painful and some patients have reported taking painkillers to treat this pain,” McCuston said.
People prone to monkey pox Symptoms should be monitored for 21 days, according to the CDC. They should check their temperature twice a day and watch for chills, swollen lymph nodes, and new rashes. If a fever or rash occurs, a person should self-isolate and contact the local health department immediately.
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