Monkeypox Cases are Climbing in NYC
Reviewing the monkeypox coverage we have shared, I noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that a more infectious mpox (i.e., the rebranded monkeypox) virus strain had been found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It was spreading and had a higher infection fatality rate than previous virus strains that had spread during 2022’s “Monkeypox Emergency. “
In March, the World Health Organization (WHO) sounded the alarm about the DRC mpox outbreak and researchers have begun warning about ‘pandemic potential”.
Now, it is being reported that the disease cases are climbing in New York City, although of a less severe and harder-to-transmit strain of the virus. As with previous outbreaks, the infections are associated with sexual activity.
The number of cases of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, has spiked in the Big Apple since October, the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene warned, with a high of 51 cases in January.Since October, the city has averaged 36 cases per month, an increase from two to 20 cases per month for most of 2023, the agency said Friday in a health advisory.Of the 256 reported cases from October through April 15, most were mild, with only 10 people requiring hospitalization.The bulk of those who fell ill were Black or Hispanic, ages 25 to 44, and men who have sex with men.
While health “experts” assert it is not a sexually transmitted disease, they indicate it is spread by “skin to skin” contact. I believe there is a great deal of “skin-to-skin” contact during intimacy, which seems to be finely threading the needle.
The groups most at risk of contracting the virus, a cousin of smallpox that can cause painful lesions and flu-like symptoms, are among those where the virus first began to spread — men who are intimate with other men. However, it is not a sexually transmitted disease, but one that spreads from skin-to-skin contact.Cases nationwide numbered 576 since Jan. 1 — compared to 298 all last year, the CDC reports.“While the overall number of mpox cases in New York state remains low, we have seen a recent increase in cases, so it’s important for people to remember it’s still with us,” state Health Department spokesperson Cadence Acquaviva said in a statement Monday.
I will highlight that the number of cases seen across the country this year is nearly double what was recorded in 2023.
The NYC Health Department wants the medical community to prepare for another potential summer-time surge, like the one seen in 2022. The New York City health advisory also mentions the Clade 1 virus that is surging in the Congo and has been the focus of the reports on pandemic potential.
“This, along with the large outbreak of the more severe Clade I monkeypox virus (MPXV) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, highlight the need for ongoing vigilance,” the advisory states. The virus can cause a rash that spreads across a patient’s body, along with flu-like symptoms including fever, chills, headache and muscle soreness….The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says there are two types of the virus: a more severe Clade I and a less severe Clade II. There have been no reported cases of Clade I in the U.S., but the recent outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo poses a risk of introduction in the States via travel, the Department of Health advisory explains.While 99.9% of people survive Clade II, some outbreaks of Clade I, which is endemic in Central Africa, have killed up to 10% of people who got sick, according to the CDC. Treatment and vaccination protocols for both types of the virus are similar.
Of course, there may be reasons we may be seeing an uptick a little sooner this year…
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