The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health experts have warned of a possible comeback of mpox this spring and summer ahead of festivals and pride events.
Christine England, M.D., an infectious disease specialist at the Cleveland Clinic, said: “Our nation has many celebrations that are at the highest risk of being affected. We have seen month-long celebrations turn into tragedy. I don’t want to,” he said. .
mpox It is a viral infection formerly known as ”. monkeypox virus. It is transmitted through skin-to-skin or intimate contact. Most people develop a rash containing bumps that are very painful. Other symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, chills, and swollen lymph nodes.
“Many cases have been reported in the LGBTQ community, but the real risk factor is a lot of intimate partner and skin-to-skin behavior,” said the institute’s disease control medical director. Dr. Rebecca Sunenshain said. Maricopa County Public Health Department.
The CDC cites In Chicago, 21 new mpox cases began to rise in mid-April.
CDC wastewater monitoring Data from the last four weeks show random virus detections in five states: New York, Maryland, South Carolina, California, and Texas. Only her one state, Virginia, has shown consistent detections, meaning the virus was detected in more than 80% of her samples in the past four weeks. The most recent detection was within the last two weeks.
Since 2022, there have been more than 30,000 cases in the United States and more than 80,000 cases worldwide.
At the height of the mpox epidemic last year, the CDC was counting hundreds of new cases per day.
In early May, the World Health Organization ended the global health emergency for mpx.
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There is a vaccine for mpox. latest research Two doses of the vaccine have been shown to be about 90% effective, but fewer than half of the most at-risk people receive even one dose.
Health experts recommend that more people at risk get vaccinated.
“We don’t know how long the vaccination will confer immunity, and we don’t know how long the natural disease will inevitably confer immunity,” England said.
Patrick Kelly owns a store in Maricopa County, Arizona, which just confirmed its first case of mpox this year. He has worked with the county health department to organize and sponsor two vaccine clinics.
“I think it’s important to explain to customers because my average customer may not know that something is there and can be infected,” he said. Told.
If you have symptoms of Mpox, call your doctor and isolate yourself to prevent the spread of the virus. CDC includes a search tool for nearby mpox vaccine clinics.
