Connecticut ‘monitoring’ monkeypox outbreaks
Connecticut has not yet identified a case of monkeypox, but state health officials say they are “monitoring the situation” as now more than a few hundred cases of the disease have broken out worldwide.
“Surveillance and rapid identification of new cases is critical for outbreak containment,” said state Department of Public Health spokesman Chris Boyle. “During human monkeypox outbreaks, close contact with infected persons is the most significant risk factor for monkeypox virus infection. Health workers and household members are at a greater risk of infection.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, monkeypox was first discovered in 1958 “when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research, hence the name ‘monkeypox.'”
The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970, and while cases do occasionally appear in some African nations, it is rare for confirmed human in the United States.
As of May 30, the CDC had recorded 15 cases in the United States, including one in Massachusetts and two in New York.
“It's not clear how the people were exposed to monkeypox, but cases include people who self-identify as men who have sex with men,” the CDC wrote.
The World Health Organization's
top monkeypox expert said this week she does not expect another pandemic as a result of the recent outbreak, but acknowledged there are unknowns with the disease including how its spreading.
“At the moment, we are not concerned about a global pandemic,” WHO's Dr. Rosamund Lewis said. “We are concerned that individuals may acquire this infection through high-risk exposure if they don't have the information they need to protect themselves.”
Though some cases can be severe, Boyle said “monkeypox is usually a selflimited disease with the symptoms lasting from two to four weeks.”
The disease usually begins as a flu-like illness accompanied by swelling of the lymph nodes and followed
by rash on the face and body.
“The virus does not spread easily between people; transmission can occur through contact with body fluids, monkeypox sores, items that have been contaminated with fluids or sores (clothing, bedding, etc.), or through respiratory droplets following prolonged face-to-face contact,” Boyle said.
Boyle said DPH is “forwarding CDC updates and communications to local health departments and infectious disease specialists.”
“Additionally, the state Public Health Laboratory is forwarding instructions on specimen collection storage and transport storage to hospital laboratories and infectious disease specialists,” he said.