CDC monitors 6 people in US for possible rare monkeypox, says public 'should not be concerned' & More News Here

“At the same time, there really aren’t that many cases that are being reported — I think maybe a dozen, a couple dozen — so, the general public should not be concerned that they are at immediate risk for monkeypox,” she stated. “We’re working through the investigations.”

Overall, “we have people who are being monitored for diseases all the time,” CDC spokesperson Christine Pearson wrote in an e mail, Thursday. That signifies that if somebody may need been uncovered to a pathogen, their well being is monitored, and they need to see physicians in the event that they develop signs.

As for the six people at the moment being monitored for potential monkeypox, all of them “are healthy, with no symptoms and are considered at low risk for monkeypox,” Pearson wrote, including that none have been seated subsequent to the unwell passenger and none had direct contact.

As the CDC’s investigation continues, discussions have began to incorporate the subject of vaccines.

CDC ‘discussing and evaluating’ smallpox vaccine

CDC officers are evaluating whether or not smallpox vaccine ought to be supplied to healthcare staff treating monkeypox sufferers and different people who could be at “high risk” for publicity to monkeypox, McQuiston stated.

“It’s definitely something that we’re discussing and evaluating, whether offering smallpox vaccine makes sense in the current setting,” she stated. “We’ll be closer to making recommendations for that in the next day or so.”

“We have vaccines that are stockpiled and available to be used, and if judged as a way to help manage this outbreak, we have the availability to use them,” McQuiston stated.

“I would say that we are in the early days of understanding what is causing this outbreak — and the fact that we’re seeing cases reported in multiple places around the globe suggests that maybe it’s been going on for a couple of weeks,” she stated. “As we work to complete our investigations and get our arms around it then hopefully we’ll have much stronger recommendations for folks.”

“This is not a disease that is going to sweep across the country,” Dr. Daniel Bausch, president of the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene, advised CNN on Thursday.

“From a public health angle, of course, we need to investigate and respond — I think the general population should just be aware of this — but there’s certainly no reason to panic and I think it’s highly, highly, highly unlikely that we will get any sort of large outbreak of this,” he stated. “And if you haven’t had contact in Massachusetts and you’re not related to the person who had disease or in that link at all — until we have any other reason to expect or to understand how this disease got into the United States — your risk of getting monkeypox is really low.”

A monkeypox thriller

In Massachusetts, physicians donning the identical private protecting gear they put on for Covid-19 sufferers have been treating the US monkeypox affected person at a particular pathogens unit inside Massachusetts General Hospital, the place he initially was identified.

(*6*) Dr. Erica Shenoy, medical director for the Regional Emerging Special Pathogens Treatment Center and affiliate chief of the an infection management unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, advised CNN on Thursday.

“Then we had discussions with our state public health officials. The decision was made that yes, they did meet criteria for testing,” Shenoy stated. The affected person examined constructive.

“I think to the public overall, there really is no clear risk at this point,” Shenoy stated. “This is an evolving situation that we’re looking to understand better — why these clusters that have been reported as well in the UK and in Portugal and Spain are happening, and to better understand the epidemiology.”

All of the people contaminated with monkeypox throughout that outbreak grew to become unwell after having contact with pet prairie canines, the CDC discovered. Those pets have been housed at an animal vendor’s amenities in Illinois the place they might have been contaminated with the virus. The amenities housed different small mammals imported from Ghana that examined constructive for monkeypox virus: two African big pouched rats, 9 dormice and three rope squirrels.

“The prairie dogs got monkeypox from the imported animals and then passed it on to the humans,” Bausch stated. “It’s a bit of a misnomer calling it monkeypox. The reservoir for this virus, the natural reservoir in nature is probably certain types of rodents.”

US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy stated Thursday that people ought to not be frightened about monkeypox at this level, however that they need to be conscious of signs and when to achieve out for assist.

Murthy defined on CNN’s New Day that monkeypox is rare in people, “but when it does come up, it’s a serious one that we should investigate, and we’ve got to make sure that we understand if and how it is spreading from person to person.”

Symptoms usually are much like the flu, he advised CNN’s John Berman and Erica Hill.

“The good news is we have one confirmed case right now. But we should always be on the lookout for more cases,” he stated. “At this time, we don’t want people to worry. At this point, again, these numbers are still small — we want them to be aware of these symptoms and if they have any concerns to reach out to their doctor.”