United States: Washington DC has reported the first case of monkeypox taking the total count in United States to 25 confirmed cases in about 12 states, with California and New York each recording five cases.
In Washington, the DC Health expert made the confirmation that the first monkeypox cases in that city were in a resident who had recently traveled to Europe.
Moreover, the DC Health stated in the press release, “The patient is currently isolated and does not pose a risk to the public. DC Health is identifying and monitoring close contacts. However, at this time, no additional cases have been identified in the district.”
The San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) mentioned that it had recorded the first suspected case of monkeypox in that city. The case patient traveled to a location currently seeing an outbreak of cases and is isolated at home in good condition.
Along with this, Health Officer Susan Philip, MD, highlighted in the press release, “San Francisco is prepared for this case & others, should more occur. We want to stressed that this is not a disease that spreads easily through the air like Covid-19, however, we do want individuals who might have been exposed to watch out for symptoms & to see a medical provider immediately if they develop symptoms for an evaluation.”
“While most cases resolve on their own, monkeypox can be serious in rare cases, & we want to prevent further spread in the community.”
Since May 13, 2022, the cases of the monkey have been recorded to the World Health Organisation (WHO) from twelve Member States that are not endemic to the monkeypox virus, all over the three WHO regions.
Furthermore, Epidemiological investigations are ongoing. However, reported cases thus far have no established travel to an endemic area.
It is based on currently available information, cases have mainly but not exclusively been identified amongst men who have physical contact with men looking for care in primary care and sexual health clinics.
