California officials find ‘likely’ rare case of monkeypox virus

The eighth suspected case of monkeypox was discovered in northern California in a person who had recently returned from Europe, emerging Tuesday afternoon as the virus continues to spread around the world.

Health chiefs said the unnamed patient arrived at a clinic in Sacramento County, home to a city of 500,000, just one day after returning from overseas on May 21.

They are currently in isolation at home and people sharing the same flight are being contacted, but they said at a briefing that the risk of others in the state becoming infected is “extremely low”.

It’s the third suspected case to emerge this week, after Washington announced its first case and Florida said on Monday it was investigating a second case. There are currently seven suspected cases in six states along the east and west coasts of the United States and one confirmed infection in Massachusetts.

None of the patients were named, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Monday that they were all men and had traveled internationally last month.

Globally, the total cases have risen to over 200 confirmed infections in at least 20 countries, mainly in Europe, and at least 100 more are under investigation. European health chiefs have warned that if the virus spreads to local wildlife – as in West Africa – it could become endemic on the continent.

Disproportionate cases have been discovered among gay and bisexual men, and experts suggest that two outbreaks in Spain and Belgium are linked to sex.

Concerns were also raised that the disease was becoming more contagious after tests showed it had acquired 50 more mutations. But yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said there are no signs that the virus is becoming more contagious.

The map above shows the number of confirmed and suspected cases worldwide, including the United States. The epidemic is currently concentrated mainly in Europe

First discovered in laboratory monkeys in the late 1950s, Monkeypox is usually mild but can cause serious illness in some cases. It can kill 10% of the people it infects. But this outbreak is the mildest strain of the West African virus, with a death rate of one in 100 cases.

The incubation period of the disease is up to 21 days, meaning it can take up to three weeks for symptoms to appear. Therefore, patients remain contagious as long as they have warning signs of the disease.

Symptoms include fever, headache, body aches, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and fatigue. A rash that usually starts on the face and then spreads to other parts of the body, including the genitals, may also develop. The rash may resemble chickenpox or syphilis, and crusts may form and fall off.

Sacramento paramedic Olivia Kaisye announced the suspected case this afternoon and said the risk to people in the area is still “extremely low.”

They said at a briefing: “This case appears to be related to recent trips to Europe.

‘Public health is collaborating’ [the Department of Health] Do contact tracing and the risk to the general public is extremely low.

Officials in Washington last night said a man who had just returned from overseas had tested positive for the family virus, including monkeypox.

A Seattle, King County, person is now at home in solitary confinement and awaiting confirmation test results from the CDC.

Health leaders say there is a “possibility” for monkeypox to spread to others in the state, although they find “no evidence” of further transmission at this time.

The local health director, Dr. “The risk to the public is low, but it’s important for doctors and the public to be aware of monkeypox symptoms and risk factors,” said Jeff Duchin.

Florida also uncovered a second suspected case Monday in another person from Broward County, which borders Miami. It was unclear whether this was related to the first reported Sunday in the same state.

To date, one case has been confirmed in Massachusetts. Health leaders are also investigating two cases in Florida and Utah, and a case in New York City, Washington and now California.

CDC leaders said yesterday that more than 200 people in Massachusetts, most of them healthcare workers, have been screened for monkeypox infection.

But he added that people are at low risk of contracting the virus because it often requires prolonged skin-to-skin contact.

Health leaders kept an eye out for six people for possible infection after sitting in three rows of a case on a seven-hour flight from Nigeria to the UK. There are no reports of later testing positive.

Monkeypox is usually spread by touching contagious skin lesions, but it can also be transmitted through airborne droplets.

At a CDC briefing yesterday, Dr. Most patients in this outbreak had lesions in the genital area, said John Brooks, a medical epidemiologist at the agency.

He added that in some cases they were mistaken for a “bad” case of herpes.

The CDC said yesterday that it has opened a stockpile of vaccines to treat “high-risk” people exposed to the virus.

More than 1,000 doses of Jynneous, a vaccine that can treat both monkeypox and smallpox, are currently given to high-risk individuals in the United States.

People who get the injection can get their first shot shortly after possible exposure to boost their immune levels. They also need to give a second shot in four weeks.

The CEO of Bavarian Nordic, which makes the vaccine, announced on Tuesday that he was drowning in phone calls.

said CNBC: ‘We are currently ramping up production and hope to be able to supply the doses. We’ve already delivered some doses to a number of European countries and this week we’re doing it with others.

People infected with monkeypox often have severe rashes, skin lesions, and flu-like symptoms. The virus kills one in ten people it infects, but current species spreading around the world are believed to have a mortality rate of one percent.

As the virus, usually only seen in West Africa, continues to wreak havoc around the world, concerns have been voiced that monkeypox is developing “much more” than expected.

Portuguese virologists tasked with conducting Covid-like studies to track the evolution of the virus say the currently circulating strain is very similar to the one that emerged in the UK four years ago.

But samples from a handful of patients affected by the new outbreak show that the virus has accumulated another 50 mutations.

The researchers wrote that this was “much higher than would be expected given the estimated rate of replacement of orthopox viruses.” They also warned that an “evolutionary leap”, as with the Covid Omicron strain, may have created a “hypermutated virus.”

Meanwhile, the Danish manufacturer of the smallpox vaccine, which is also effective against monkey disease, warned last year that outbreaks were becoming more frequent. He said it may have to do with the “genetic evolution” of the virus.

But experts are still analyzing the monkeypox genome, and the WHO said yesterday that there was no sign that it had mutated. The current strain circulating worldwide is much milder than other viruses.