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U.S. health experts said Friday that cases of monkeypox being detected at the moment are not necessarily showing the usual symptoms, making the disease more difficult to diagnose.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stressed that identifying cases was crucial to halting the spread of the disease.
“We’ve seen monkeypox presentations that are mild and sometimes only limited areas of the body, which differ from the classic presentation seen in the endemic countries of West Central Africa,” said Rochelle Walensky, head of the CDC.
“This has raised concerns that some cases may not be recognized or diagnosed,” he added, calling for greater vigilance among members of the medical profession and the general public.
Current cases do not always show flu-like symptoms, such as fever, body aches, and swollen glands that usually precede the onset of the disease-like rash.
In addition, although these rashes usually appear all over the body, many current cases are limited to certain areas.
“It’s important to note that cases of monkeypox can be similar to some sexually transmitted infections, such as herpes,” and can be confused with other diagnoses, “Walensky said.
The United States has now reported 45 cases, he added, twice as many as last week. No deaths were reported.
As of June 9, about 1,300 cases had been identified worldwide, he said.
Transmission requires close and prolonged contact between two people. The United States is especially vaccinated against contact cases to curb the epidemic.
The country has 100 million doses of the ACAM2000 vaccine, but is in the process of getting doses of another more modern vaccine, Jynneos said.
By the end of May, the United States had only 1,000 doses of the newest drug, compared to the current 72,000, Dawn O’Connell of the Department of Health said Friday.
An additional 300,000 doses are expected to arrive in the coming weeks, he added.
The United States is buying more monkeypox vaccine as the number of cases worldwide grows
© 2022 AFP
Citation: U.S. health experts say monkeypox cases are harder to detect (2022, June 11) recovered on June 11, 2022
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