State health officials reported 30 new monkeypox cases on Thursday, yet another one-week virus high as the World Health Organization considers declaring monkeypox a global emergency.
The 30 new monkeypox cases in the Bay State is up from 18 cases during the previous week. The 30 new cases were diagnosed in men within the past week, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
It brings the total number of monkeypox cases in the state to 79 since the state’s first case was announced in mid-May. That first case was also the country’s first confirmed case.
There have been 2,323 reported cases of monkeypox virus in U.S. residents this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s a significant jump of 1,270 cases since last week.
No deaths have been reported related to this global outbreak, and patients generally recover fully in 2 to 4 weeks.
Gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men make up a large proportion of the cases.
“However, the risk is not limited to the LGBTQ+ community, and anyone who has been in close contact with someone who has monkeypox is at risk,” DPH said.
World Health Organization officials met on Thursday to consider if it should declare monkeypox a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.”
“I remain concerned about the number of cases, in an increasing number of countries, that have been reported to WHO,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the meeting.
“It’s pleasing to note an apparent declining trend in some countries, but others are still seeing an increase, and six countries reported their first cases last week,” he later added.
Transmission occurs through direct contact with body fluids and monkeypox sores, by touching items that have been contaminated with fluids or sores (clothing, bedding, etc.), or less commonly, through respiratory droplets following prolonged face-to-face contact.
In many of the recent cases, the locations of the rash lesions suggest transmission during sexual contact.
DPH received its initial allocation of 2,004 doses of the monkeypox vaccine on July 5. The number of health care providers and locations offering vaccination across the state has now expanded to 11, and nearly 3,000 vaccine doses have been administered.
DPH said, “Due to extremely limited national availability of vaccine, the JYNNEOS vaccine in Massachusetts remains severely limited at this time.”
