Monkeypox contributed to the October death of a North Jersey resident who had other underlying medical conditions, the state Department of Health said Monday. It is the first monkeypox-related death in New Jersey and one of nine nationwide, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control.
The person’s monkeypox infection was confirmed in mid-September, the health department said. No other details were provided about the individual due to privacy concerns.
Although cases are declining from their peak in mid-August, monkeypox is still circulating in New Jersey. So far, 751 cases have been confirmed in the state since the disease was first reported in June, with 49 people hospitalized. Hudson and Essex counties have had the most cases, followed by Union, Middlesex and Bergen.
New York City had 3,753 cases as of Oct. 31 and the current outbreak in the United States has caused 28,753 confirmed cases.
State officials urged those at risk to get vaccinated to prevent the disease. The series of two shots, spaced a month apart, is available at several sites in New Jersey.
Monkeypox is a viral disease that spreads through close, intimate, skin-to-skin contact. It usually causes flu-like symptoms followed by a painful rash, with blistered bumps or pustules. A person is considered contagious until the pustules scab over and new skin forms.
Those most vulnerable to developing severe disease are those with weakened immune systems, children younger than eight, pregnant or nursing women, and people with skin conditions that impair the integrity of the skin.
Anyone can get it, but current data suggest that gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men make up the majority of cases in the current monkeypox outbreak, according to the CDC. Anyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, who has been in close, personal contact with someone who has monkeypox is at risk.
Almost all of the cases in New Jersey have been in men, and nearly two-thirds have been in those aged 30 to 49.
