With no local health department and public health officials declining to provide details, Lancaster County residents may be left in the dark about monkeypox cases in the county.
That’s a stark contrast to municipalities across the state with local health departments that are communicating case counts to residents.
Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health declined to comment when LNP | LancasterOnline inquired about a recent report that samples collected by Lancaster General Hospital staff had been sent to a Pennsylvania Department of Health laboratory for monkeypox testing.
“The Department of Health is your best point of contact regarding information related to current and suspecting monkeypox cases, positivity rate and the process of investigating potential cases both locally and statewide,” LGH public relations and corporate communications manager Marcie Brody wrote to LNP | LancasterOnline in an email.
When LNP | LancasterOnline asked the state Department of Health if samples from Lancaster County were being tested and if there had been any monkeypox cases confirmed in the county, press secretary Mark O’Neill responded with this in an email: “The department does not provide case counts at the county level in order to protect patient confidentiality.”
The void of information in Lancaster County has a counterpoint just to the south in Chester County, which has its own health department. There, local health department officials reported to residents late last week that the county had confirmed its first monkeypox case among residents and had started contact tracing of close contacts in order to offer medical help and contain the spread of the virus.
The three-member Lancaster County Board of Commissioners has long resisted creating a county health department, claiming that it isn’t necessary and would be costly.
However, as the county grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic, the commissioners did create a health advisory board, which had its first monthly meeting in March. The board, made up of local health officials and community leaders, can provide recommendations to the county commissioners.
However, the board cancelled its meetings in June and July, and in July LNP | LancasterOnline was notified that the board would not meet in August. Its next scheduled meeting is Sept. 9.
There were 170 monkeypox cases reported in Pennsylvania as of Tuesday, according to a tracker published by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
People with monkeypox in the current outbreak generally report having close, sustained physical contact with other people who have monkeypox. While the Pennsylvania Department of Health said many of those affected in the current global outbreaks are gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men, anyone who has been in close contact with someone who has monkeypox can get the illness.
The time from exposure to when symptoms appear for monkeypox is about 12 days, with a range from seven to 17 days, according to the state Department of Health. The illness often begins with fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, a general feeling of discomfort, and exhaustion.
Typically, within one to three days after the fever occurs, the patient develops a rash of raised fluid-filled bumps, often first on the face. The lesions usually develop through several stages before crusting and falling off over the course of two to four weeks.
Most patients have mild illness and require no treatment, but all patients must self-isolate in order to avoid spreading the virus, according to the state Department of Health.
There are two vaccines that protect against monkeypox, and doses are being used to target individuals who may be at risk of acquiring monkeypox or those who might have severe outcomes if they become infected.
There is also an antiviral treatment, called Tecovirimat, that is used when needed.
