Monkeypox Virus in the US: California, North Carolina Infections Detected Amid 52% Global Surge

Monkeypox in the United States continues to spread, with cases reported in California and North Carolina as infections globally surge by 52%.

The Santa Clara County Public Health Department said on Thursday that it was already investigating its first suspected case of monkeypox in a resident who likely became infected on an international trip. The announcement marks California's latest reported case of the rare virus, which is a milder version of smallpox.

Monkeypox in the US

The first case detected in the state came from a Sacramento County resident who tested positive for the disease in late May. That patient was followed by another case recorded in San Francisco earlier this month.

Officials from Santa Clara County were working with the State of California Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in investigating the latest case. The patient, reportedly infected, had tested positive while seeking medical care.

The individual is now in isolation, and confirmation of the case is pending testing from the CDC as county health officials said they are following up with people with whom the individual had close contact. In a news release, Communicable Disease Controller and Assistant Health Officer Dr. Monika Roy urged medical providers to be on the lookout for monkeypox, as per Mercury News.

The news release added that gay and bisexual men are being "disproportionately affected by the virus in the region but did not offer further explanations. Despite the surge in cases, the overall risk of monkeypox to the general population is low.

Symptoms of the virus are similar to but milder than those of smallpox and include fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, and exhaustion. These symptoms are usually accompanied by a distinctive rash or sores that often show up on an individual's face and spread to other areas of the body.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the situation comes as Riverside County reported its first probable case of monkeypox this week. Health officials received positive test results from a man in the eastern portion of the county on Tuesday, said the Riverside University Health System-Public Health spokesperson, Jose Arballo Jr.

Confirmed Monkeypox Case

The patient, who is under 60 years old, showed up at a clinic with symptoms of monkeypox and was tested, said Arballo. However, the man did not require hospitalization and was well enough to recover at home.

The public health officer for the county, Geoffrey Leung, said that given that there have been other probable cases in the region, it was not entirely surprising that Riverside County would record one.

The most recent count by the state's Department of Public Health noted that there were 39 suspected and confirmed monkeypox cases in California. There were eight cases in the state and 40 across the United States two weeks ago.

The State Epidemiologist and Epidemiology Section Chief, Dr. Zack Moore, said in a press release that though they recorded the first confirmed case in North Carolina, they knew that there were likely other cases in the state, WRAL reported.