Mpox, formerly monkey pox, cases are once again climbing in the United States; the cases are twice as high as they were last year at this time.
CNN reported that as per the data from the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 511 cases of Mpox have been reported this year till March 16 whereas last year fewer than 300 cases were witnessed by late March.
The transmission rates are still much lower than in 2022 when tens of thousands of cases were reported in the US.
Chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, Dr. Marcus said, “This has the potential to become a fairly prevalent infectious disease, but the advantage with Mpox is, we have a vaccine that’s effective. We don’t have that for syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, or HIV.”
He also said, “We’ve had fairly good participation in the vaccination push, but we’re not anywhere close to getting most of the at-risk population vaccinated. Until that happens, we’re going to see outbreaks and upticks in various places.”
Initial symptoms of Mpox include flu, fever, headache, chills, muscle weakness, and exhaustion. These are often followed by raised lesions with a rash that can heal over a period of weeks.
People who have HIV are at risk of severe outcomes, including death.
A two-dose regimen of the Bavarian Nordic vaccine manufactured by a Danish company is recommended. The shots of the vaccine are given about a month apart.
The Virginia Health Department issued a notice to raise awareness about the riding Mpox cases, “We felt like it was really important to get the word out that there is a continued risk from this virus. It’s still here," said Dr. Brandy Darby.
