MONKEYPOX cases continue to rise in the US as 29 new infections have been detected, data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows.
The latest update by the CDC on Tuesday brings the nation’s total cases to 142 only a month since the first US case was detected.
The US confirmed its first case of monkeypox in a traveler who returned to Massachusetts from Canada on May 17.
The country has reported 72 cases across 18 states in the last month, making it the largest monkeypox outbreak in The US.
California has been struck the hardest with 21 confirmed cases, followed by New York with 17 and Illinois with 13.
Anyone can get the illness – more so if you have been in contact or had sexual contact with someone with symptoms.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidance on Tuesday about how to identify monkeypox during the outbreak.
Traditionally, people with monkeypox have developed a fever, swollen lymph nodes, headaches and muscle aches.
The symptoms are followed by a rash that starts on their face or mouth and then spreads to other parts of their body – particularly the hands and feet.
However, in some recent cases, patients first experienced a rash in the mouth or around the genitals or anus.
And instead of widespread rashes, some patients saw scattered or localized lesions in areas other than the face, hands, or feet.
At times, flu-like symptoms developed after the rash, but other people didn’t have those symptoms at all.
Scientists have warned of unusual symptoms in US patients that were not previously associated with the virus.
Some patients reported pain in or around the anus and rectum, rectal bleeding, proctitis (painful inflammation of the rectum lining), or the feeling of needing a bowel movement even though the bowels are empty.
Source: The Sun
