Second US monkeypox death reported in patient diagnosed with virus in Los Angeles

Los Angeles health officials confirmed Thursday night that a second person in the United States died while being infected with monkeypox.

An autopsy is currently underway to determine the cause of death, but if it turns out to be monkeypox, it could be America’s first victim of the virus.

Last month, an adult in Harris County, Texas, died after being diagnosed with monkeypox. The cause of death is still under investigation. Globally, 18 people have died from the virus so far, two in Spain and one in Belgium.

America currently has the world’s largest outbreak of monkeypox with 21,504 confirmed cases, but the epidemic appears to have peaked as the seven-day average for daily cases continues to decline. The virus, unique to West Africa, has spread to more than 50 countries with around 57,000 confirmed cases so far.

The chart above shows the number of cases of monkeypox reported each day in the United States (yellow bars) and the seven-day average for new infections (white line). The number of detected cases has decreased since the end of last month

The map above shows the countries that have reported confirmed deaths from monkeypox. Shown in yellow as the United States has reported two deaths, but neither has been confirmed to have monkeypox.

The Los Angeles County Health Department announced its suspected death from monkeypox during a media briefing late Thursday.

Health officials did not disclose the patient’s age or gender, or whether he was immunocompromised, citing privacy concerns.

County Bureau of Disease Control medical director Dr. Rita Singhal said, “We are currently investigating the death of a person with monkeypox in Los Angeles County.

“We are at the beginning of the investigation and do not have further details at this time.

“As details emerge, we will share them, maintaining confidentiality and confidentiality.

“This is one of two deaths in the United States currently being investigated to determine whether monkeypox was a contributing cause of death.”

Last month, Texas health officials also reported that an immunocompromised adult diagnosed with monkeypox died.

They did not name the person, but said they were receiving treatment in Harris County, the state’s largest city, Houston. In addition to monkeypox, the patient also had “several serious illnesses.”

An autopsy was initiated to determine the cause of death of the person whose result is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

At that time, local health council member Dr. John Hellerstedt: ‘Monkey pox is a serious illness, especially for people with weakened immune systems.

“We continue to encourage people to seek treatment if they have been exposed to monkeypox or have symptoms consistent with the disease.”

California currently has the largest monkeypox outbreak in the Americas, with 4,140 cases diagnosed.

Almost half of the infections occur in Los Angeles – 1,805 recorded so far.

State health officials say nearly all of them are male, with more than 95% gay or bisexual. The mean age of the patients is 35 years.

But in recent weeks, the monkeypox epidemic in America has peaked in line with that in other countries, as medics have finally beaten the virus.

At the peak of the epidemic at the end of August, an average of 491 cases were recorded per day.

But as that fell by more than half to 242 cases on September 7, the latest date is available.

Experts attributed the decline to a combination of increased vaccinations for groups most at risk, disease awareness, and successful contact tracing efforts to curb the spread of the virus to more patients.

Most patients experienced a mild illness during the epidemic that prevented them from being hospitalized, although they often suffered from severe pain.

This map shows the number of cases of monkeypox reported by the state. California is currently the hotspot with over 4,000 confirmed cases

They also had to isolate themselves at home for weeks and could not leave the house until the rash subsided and the crusts fell off.

Monkeypox is mainly spread through physical contact with the rash that occurs in infected patients or contact with crusts on sheets, clothing or towels.

It is not a sexually transmitted infection, it only requires physical contact between people.

However, patients can only spread the disease when they show symptoms, unlike Covid, where the disease can be transmitted by others without even realizing it.

The illness often begins with flu-like symptoms before a rash appears and spreads throughout the body. But in the current outbreak, many patients reported a rash before showing flu symptoms.