The Washington State Department of Health is investigating a suspected case of monkey virus reported in King County in Seattle.
Currently, Washington, Florida, New York, Massachusetts, and Utah have reported suspected cases, but the only state that has confirmed an infection was Massachusetts.
The United States is responding to a request to release the monkeypox vaccine from the nation’s Strategic National Stockpile, reported ABC22.
The two-dose Jynneos vaccine is licensed to prevent smallpox and specifically to prevent monkeypox in the United States.
Currently there are more than 1,000 doses available and the company is expected to increase production to generate more doses in the country.
The United States has more than 100 million doses of and another smallpox vaccine that could also be used.
The infection in Seattle was first reported to local officials on Sunday, according to a written statement from Public Health-Seattle & King County.
The health officer, Dr. Jeff Duchin, said that the person who could be infected is an adult man who traveled in the last month to a country who has had recent cases of monkeypox, reported Fox13.
That person was not hospitalized and is isolated in home
This comes after Florida authorities reported the first suspected case of the smallpox virus of the monkey in the state.
The case was found in Broward County and is related to international travel, according to a press release from health officials.
The person is currently in isolation.
There are no other cases in Florida in at this time.
The Florida Department of Health in Broward County and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating the case.
Authorities said that cases of the monkeypox virus have been reported worldwide since 14 May this year.
This comes days after the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene identified a possible case of the new virus in Hospital Bellevue.
According to the department, monkeypox is rare in the US and generally prevents a flu-like illness accompanied by swollen lymph nodes and rash on the face and body.
“The Department’s epidemiologists will follow up on anyone who has been in contact with the patient while he was infectious,” reads a statement.
Wednesday, work ios from Massachusetts reported a case of the virus in a man who had recently visited Canada.
The man had been hospitalized but is in good condition, authorities said.
The virus is generally limited to Africa and rare cases in the US. Small numbers have been confirmed or suspected in the UK, Portugal and Spain.
U.S. officials are also questioning six people who were on a plane with one person who tested positive for the virus, however, Dr. Amesh Adalja, an expert in infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University, said that the probability of these people becoming infected is low.
“It spreads through close body contact,” Adalja said. “If they were on the same plane, I don’t necessarily think transmission would occur.”
Jennifer McQuiston, of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on the Massachusetts case: “I think we are preparing for the possibility of more cases.
Belgium became recently in the first country in the world to introduce quarantine for monkeypox cases after registering three infections linked to a fetish festival.
Hours after Dr. Susan Hopkins of Public Health England said that infections will increase, Belgium announced that there will be a compulsory quarantine of 21 days for anyone suffering from the disease.
The country had three cases, all of which were recorded on Friday and are linked to the four-day Darklands Festival in the port city of Antwerp.
The organizers gave jeron: “There are reasons to suppose that the virus has been brought to the festival by visitors from abroad after recent cases in other countries”.
The virus can be significantly more harmful in young children , and it was reported that a British boy who contracted the disease is fighting for his life in intensive care.
In an interview on the BBC, Dr. Hopkins said: “We know from reports Africa, where the disease has circulated in outbreaks for many years, that certain people are at much higher risk of severe illness, including immunocompromised people or young children.”
“In adults, it is relatively mild”.
But he said that doctors are learning more every day and added: “Clearly , this is a new infectious disease that we have not seen before in our community”.
“We will have to learn a lot about it in the coming weeks”.
“ The risk to the general population remains extremely low,” he said, but added: “People need to be alert and we really want doctors to be alert.”
Initial symptoms include illness viral, before a chickenpox-like rash spreads to parts of the body.
Anyone feeling sick should “stay home,” said Dr. Hopkins. “If you have a rash, seek medical attention immediately, either by calling your GP or a sexual health clinic,” he said.
Read more
Monkeypox may have spread for sexual contacts at two parties in Europe: Expert
President Biden says monkeypox cases should concern “everyone”
Monkeypox: what is known about the unusual outbreak detected in several regions and why it will not be “like another covid pandemic”