First potential human-to-human transmission of monkeypox identified in the United States

The first potential cases of human-to-human transmission of monkeypox were detected in the United States this year.

A total of four cases were detected this weekend — two in California and one each in Colorado and New York.

It brings the US tally to 14 infections in eight states, with most infections occurring in gay and bisexual men.

California health officials said their second case, identified this weekend, was a “close contact” of a first patient diagnosed three days earlier. Both now live in separate apartments.

In Colorado, another person being screened for the virus is a “close contact” of a young gay or bisexual man who was diagnosed with the infection a day earlier.

The first patients in each state fell ill shortly after returning from overseas trips to Europe and Canada, respectively, which are facing outbreaks of the virus endemic to West Africa.

The explosion of cases in 24 countries prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to upgrade the threat level from the virus to “moderate”.

They warned that if infections continue to rise, vulnerable people and children, who are more likely to die from the virus, could catch it.

There are also growing concerns that the disease could spread to wild animals and become endemic worldwide.

In California, the case was discovered in Sacramento – a city of 500,000 people – and traced back to the initial infection discovered three days earlier.

The state’s health chiefs insisted the risk to the public was “very low,” though contact tracing was ongoing.

On May 24, they revealed a suspected case in a person who had returned from Europe a day earlier – where an outbreak is occurring.

WHO raises risk of monkeypox outbreak to “moderate”

The threat of monkeypox to the world has been upgraded to “moderate” by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the tropical virus spreads to dozens of countries.

The WHO said the explosion of cases with no links to each other or to Africa meant the current number was “probably an underestimate”.

It has warned that if infections persist, vulnerable people and children – who are more likely to die from the virus – could start catching it.

So far the outbreak, first detected in early May, has spread to 24 countries and has been diagnosed in 106 Britons, most of whom are men who have sex with men.

There are also growing concerns that the virus could spread to wild animals and become endemic around the world, as is the case in parts of central and west Africa.

The human-animal transition would also increase the risk of mutating monkeypox. At the moment the public health risk is moderate, but the WHO said it has the potential to become “high”.

In Colorado, officials said their new case was in Denver and a “close contact” of the case was discovered just a day earlier.

They also said the risk to the public “remains low”.

How the other two cases in California and New York may have been infected has not been disclosed.

Tests are currently underway at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to confirm that these are monkeypox infections.

Most infections occur in men, but in Virginia the case occurred in a woman who recently returned from West Africa.

The virus has been detected in California, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Utah, Virginia and Washington.

Only symptomatic individuals can spread the virus, usually through physical contact with infectious skin lesions.

Although it’s not a sexually transmitted infection, health chiefs say the virus may spread through touching the genital area.

So far, more than 400 cases have been detected in 24 countries where the virus is not endemic, prompting the WHO to up its threat level.

In a risk assessment released on Sunday, they warned that if the virus “takes the opportunity to establish itself as a human pathogen” and spreads to vulnerable groups, their rating could be shifted from “moderate” to “high”.

The “sudden onset” and “wide geographic range” of cases suggest widespread human transmission of the virus — which spreads through skin-to-skin contact and droplets from an infected person — is underway, said the WHO.

It also warned that the rise in monkeypox infections suggests the virus “may have been circulating undetected for several weeks or more”.

Reported cases have been mild so far, but there is a risk that the virus could have “major health implications” if it spreads to those at risk, including children and immunocompromised people, such as some HIV patients, who “may be particularly at risk.” are”. more serious illness”.

Monkeypox can kill up to 10 percent of the people it infects. The milder strain causing the current outbreak kills one in 100 – similar to when Covid first struck. In previous outbreaks, the virus fatality rate was higher in children.

The WHO warned of a “high risk” of further spreading the virus through skin-to-skin contact between families and sexual partners, and through contact with contaminated materials such as utensils, bedding and clothing.

Health chiefs have warned that monkeypox, a virus endemic to parts of Africa and known for its rare and unusual rashes, bumps and lesions, could also spread to some pets and become endemic in Europe. Undated handout file picture issued by the UK Health Security Agency of the stadiums of Monkeypox

“However, the risk to the general public appears to be low at this time,” the agency said.

It warned that a “large proportion” of the population was vulnerable to monkeypox due to the cessation of the smallpox vaccination program.

Very few people under the age of 40 have been vaccinated. In the United States, adolescents were routinely offered this vaccine until four decades ago, around the time the virus was eradicated.

Because smallpox and monkeypox are so similar, those who received the vaccine are thought to have up to 85 percent immunity to the circulating strain.

No monkeypox cases have been recorded among medical professionals in the current outbreak, but an NHS worker became infected in 2018 after treating a patient returning from NIgeria.

In its report, the WHO also warns that people who have recently had multiple sexual partners – either locally or abroad – are “at risk” of contracting monkeypox.

It says health chiefs should reach out to vulnerable communities, which “currently” include men who have sex with men and their close contacts.