The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) reported what they called a “resurgence of mpox”. , [+]
Remember mpox, the thing that was formerly known as monkeypox and was declared a national public health emergency last summer? Well, just because political leaders and TV personalities aren’t talking about mpox nearly as much as they did earlier in 2022, doesn’t mean the mpox virus has disappeared from the US, quite the contrary. This brick-sized virus that was not previously established in the US before 2002 just keeps spreading, just keeps spreading, just keeps spreading in this country. And now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a new alert about mpox. This was followed by the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) reporting what they called a “resurgence of mpox”. From April 17 to May 5, 2023, there has been a cluster of 12 confirmed mpox cases along with one probable case in the Chicago, Illinois, area.
Although no one has been hospitalized in this cluster so far, all had symptoms of mpox. Confirmed cases include nine men who identified as non-Hispanic white, two men who identified as non-Hispanic black, and two men who identified as Asian-descent, all between the ages of 24 and 46. and the average age is 34 years. Four of these people had reported recent travel outside of Illinois to New York City, New Orleans and Mexico. So what happened in the Chicago-area doesn’t necessarily stay in the Chicago-area.
Before you say, “Oh, I’ve already been fully vaccinated against mpox and thus I’m invincible,” keep in mind that the vaccine does not create an impenetrable force field against the virus around you. It’s not like the Green Lantern ring or the Phoenix force. Nine of the men in this cluster had already received two doses of JYNNEOS mpox vaccine. That doesn’t mean the mpox vaccine didn’t help them. In addition to significantly reducing your risk of catching the virus, the vaccine may reduce the severity of your symptoms, even if you do become infected.
All of this is a reminder that the mpox virus hasn’t gone the way of shutter shades and wedge sneakers. It hasn’t really disappeared even though you don’t hear much about the virus these days. As Yogi Berra once said, it ain’t over until it’s over. And the mpox outbreak isn’t over. Nobody canceled it. While the number of reported mpox cases has dropped significantly since last summer, “the outbreak is not over,” the CDC warns in its alert. In fact, he even warned about a possible MPox resurgence this spring and summer.
Yes, this happens when a virus is not prevented from re-establishing itself in the US, which happened in 2022. You can see clusters of cases and maybe even bigger jumps. Speaking of clusters, the beginning of the response to the mpox outbreak last summer was sort of a cluster, you know. For anyone claiming that America’s response to the Mpox outbreak was somehow adequate, the phrase, “I know what you didn’t do last summer” applies here. In July 14, 2022, scientific American In an article titled, “US Monkeypox Response Has Been Venely Inadequate, Experts Say,” Tanya Lewis described the US monkeypox response.
And spoiler alert it was not a positive account. After all, people don’t tend to say, “Your work performance has been woefully inadequate, which is why you’re getting a pay raise,” unless, of course, you like the boss really well. know. Lewis described the various delays and hurdles in mpox testing and vaccine roll-out that existed last summer. This left many people with no idea if they were carrying the virus and many people were too weak to catch the virus for very long.
According to CDC data, only 23% of people considered at risk for mpox have been fully vaccinated. , [+]
The US response has never really reached an adequate level. Since the beginning of the mpox outbreak, the U.S. ends up administering approximately 1.2 million doses of the JYNNEOS mpox vaccine. This may seem like a lot. But this means that only 23% of those at risk for mpox have been fully vaccinated, according to CDC data. It’s been “mmmggreat” for the mpox virus, so that bricklayer virus just keeps on spreading, just keeps on spreading. In its new alert, the CDC provides the following estimate given the current situation: “The risk of a resurgent mpox outbreak is greater than 35% in most jurisdictions in the United States.” “Resurgent outbreaks in these communities could be as large or larger than in 2022,” he said.
“As large as or greater than 2022” obviously won’t do well. as i cover forbesIn 2022, the mpox outbreak led to international, national, and state emergency declarations. At the peak of the outbreak in August 2022, about 460 people were newly infected every day in the US, although the number of cases per day has gradually declined since then, with cases and clusters continuing to emerge. To date, at least 30,395 mpox cases have been reported in this country since the May 2022 outbreak. This is well above zero cases of mpox in the US for most of the years before 2022.
Mpox virus is spread through close contact. This includes direct contact with mpox sores or handling materials such as clothing and bedding materials that have touched mpox sores or have otherwise been contaminated with the virus. You can also catch the mpox virus from respiratory secretions and droplets exhaled or inhaled by an infected person. And, yes, even though mpox is not strictly considered a sexually transmitted infection, you can catch mpox through sex because close contact is often a requirement of sorts for sex. It’s not uncommon to yell during sex, “Hey, how’s it going out there?”
It is not the act of sex itself that is the only way to catch the mpox virus. You can’t say, “Oh, we just hugged. So, there was no way for me to catch mpox from my friend.” Prior to 2022, most reported cases of mpox in various parts of the world did not appear to be the result of sexual contact. Unlike many humans, the mpox virus does not judge people and displays any prejudice. The virus doesn’t say, “Hmm, I’m going to infect that person because I don’t approve of that person’s background or lifestyle.” It will simply try to infect any human it can physically reach.
Again, there is great concern that there will be a resurgence of mpox in the US in the spring and summer of 2023, which is why the CDC released this latest Health Alert Network (HAN) health update to alert physicians and public health agencies around the US. Can be said for It will be important to quickly identify mpox infections, quickly isolate anyone who is infected, and quickly quarantine anyone who may be infected. Practicing safe sex will also be important. Of course, there probably won’t be a time when the CDC or other public health officials say, “Okay, let everyone have as much risky sex as possible.” And remember that there are mpox vaccines available for those at high risk for mpox.
The ongoing mpox outbreak is yet another example of how not responding quickly and effectively to an infectious disease outbreak has left the US with a problem that it will potentially pay for year after year. Will continue to do It’s also another example that just because political leaders and TV personalities have stopped talking about something, doesn’t mean it’s actually gone away.
