FRIDAY, June 3, 2022 (HealthDay News) – The number of known cases of smallpox in the United States has risen to 21 in 11 states, federal health officials said on Friday.
Cases are also largely concentrated among gay or bisexual men, with the virus apparently transmitted as a result of intimate skin-to-skin contact, according to a new report published June 3 in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a publication of the Centers for Disease Control. USA. for disease control and prevention.
“Most of them reported international travel during the 21 days prior to the onset of their symptoms, and most MMWR patients identify as men who have sex with men,” said Captain Jennifer. McQuiston, Deputy Director of the High Consequences Pathogens Division and CDC. Pathology. “In many cases, her rash started in the genital area.”
No deaths have been reported in the United States or other countries affected by smallpox outbreaks, McQuiston told a news conference on Friday. “That said, we don’t want to downplay this condition,” he added. “The rash caused by the monkeypox virus can spread widely through the body or occur in sensitive areas such as the genitals. It can be really painful and some patients have reported that they need prescription pain medication to control this pain. “Sores can also cause long – term scarring on the skin.”
According to the CDC, there are four reported cases in California and New York, three in Florida, two in Colorado and Utah, and one in Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington.
The new MMWR report documents the outbreak of smallpox by the end of May and provides more information on the 17 cases that had been identified so far. Adult gay men accounted for 16 of the 17 cases in late May. The other person is a heterosexual woman, McQuiston said. The monkeypox eruption began in the genital area in four cases and in the anal area in five cases, the MMWR report found. Oral rash also developed in five cases. Of the 17 cases, 14 patients reported international travel to 11 different countries during the 21 days prior to the onset of symptoms.
Genetic sequencing has shown that two genetically different variants of monkeypox are involved in the current outbreak, McQuiston said, but both are descended from the West African strain “which is less severe than other known clades.”
“Currently, all patients are recovering or have already recovered, and those who still have a rash are advised to stay home and stay away from other people until they are fully recovered,” McQuiston said. . “This means that when all the sores have become a crust, the crusts fall off and a new healthy skin has emerged.”
There are two vaccines and an antiviral drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that the federal government makes available to states for the treatment and prevention of monkeypox, said Dawn O’Connell, assistant secretary of preparation. and response from the Department of Health and Human Services.
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