New York City is America’s monkeypox hotspot: Metropolis bosses discover fifth suspected case – as national tally rises to 22
- New York City health officials announced a fifth case of monkeypox in the city, bringing the statewide total to 22
- On the same day, the Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia areas also revealed their first cases of the virus
- No further details were released about the latest patient from New York City, including their gender or if they had recently returned from abroad
- Most cases detected worldwide have involved gay or bisexual men, with two raves in Belgium and Spain believed to be hotspots
New York City has detected its fifth suspected case of monkeypox, health chiefs revealed Thursday night – bringing the national tally to 22.
Empire state officials are yet to release more details about the case, including the sex of the patients and whether they are linked to international travel.
But the new infection makes the 8 million American city a hotspot for the tropical disease, which is native to West Africa.
Another four cases of monkeypox were detected yesterday, with Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia all reporting their first patients to be struck down by the virus.
Most cases are found in gay and bisexual men who have recently returned from international travel. However, a number of cases are also seen in “close contacts” of cases, suggesting human-to-human transmission could be occurring on American soil.
More than 700 cases have been detected worldwide – most of them in Spain and the UK, where the figure has dwarfed 200.
America has now detected 22 cases of monkeypox in 11 states – Pennsylvania and Illinois yesterday joined the list of cities recognizing the virus
Pictured above are the early spotting symptoms caused by monkeypox. After the marks appear, they become concave and turn black before eventually falling off
Pictured above are symptoms caused by monkeypox infection. Anyone with these warning signs is urged to come forward
The new case in New York City tested positive for the orthopoxvirus — the family that includes smallpox and monkeypox.
The sample is now being sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for testing to confirm it is a case of monkeypox. It is very likely that an orthopox positive person will have monkeypox.
The New York City Department of Health yesterday revealed its fifth infection, saying on Twitter: “An additional person has tested positive for the orthopoxvirus, suspected to be monkeypox, in New York City.
“Five cases have been identified so far.
“Monkeypox is rare in New York City, but we can stop it from spreading. Learn more about prevention and symptoms.”
Reduce the number of sexual partners you have to fight monkeypox, the World Health Organization says
People should reduce the number of their sexual partners to combat the spread of monkeypox, the World Health Organization urged on Wednesday.
dr Hans Kluge, head of WHO’s European department, has warned that the current outbreak of the tropical disease “may be uncontainable”.
He warned that Europe had become the new epicenter of the virus as the outbreak was linked to sexual transmission at raves and festivals across the continent.
dr Kluge insisted the virus “will not require the same sweeping population measures” as Covid, but said “significant and urgent” measures were needed to prevent further cases.
He added that while the cases were focused on men who have sex with men, nothing stopped them from spreading to other groups.
The first case in the city involved a man who was hospitalized in Manhattan after suffering symptoms of the virus.
No details were released about the other cases.
Monkeypox has now spread to 11 states, with the second highest number of cases in California (four).
Florida has three infections while Colorado and Utah both have two.
Georgia, Massachusetts, Virginia, Washington, Pennsylvania and Illinois have each reported one infection.
Monkeypox is typically transmitted through physical contact with infectious skin lesions in patients.
People who are infected initially have a fever within the first 21 days before a rash breaks out on the face and spreads to the rest of the body.
It can take up to four weeks for symptoms to go away as the rash goes through several stages before finally falling off.
Most cases are mild, but between 1 in 10 and 1 in 100 people infected die from the disease.
Far more cases of monkeypox are recorded in Europe than in the US, where the virus may have taken root.
Spain has reported the most cases on the continent (208), followed by England (206) and Portugal (138).
WHO chiefs suggest the continent’s outbreak is linked to unsafe sex at two raves in Spain and Belgium.
As in America, cases are occurring mostly among gay and bisexual men, but health chiefs warn that nothing can stop the disease from spreading to other groups.
There are also increasing calls for the outbreak to be contained, with experts saying that if the virus is allowed to spread further it could spread to the animal population – which would become a reservoir.
On Wednesday, the head of WHO’s European department, Dr. Hans Kluge urges people to reduce the number of their sexual partners to help contain the outbreak.
He also warned that the tropical disease in Europe “may not be containable” as there are still undiscovered chains of transmission.