A probable case of monkeypox has been identified in a San Francisco resident amid a recent increase in cases in the United States and around the world, public health officials said Friday night.
Information about the person from San Francisco with the probable case could not be disseminated for reasons of confidentiality, but public health officials said the person was traveling to a “case site”. The California Public Health Laboratory in Richmond confirmed the probable case on Friday. The case will now be sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for final confirmation, public health officials said.
San Francisco health officials uncovered the probable case Friday night after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had identified 20 cases of monkeypox in 11 states, including four in California. The San Francisco case was not counted among the 11.
Until the San Francisco case is confirmed by the CDC, it will be considered a probable case of monkeypox. The person did not report close contact in San Francisco “during the period he was able to spread the infection to others,” public health officials said.
“We were really pleased that this person remained aware and did seek medical attention,” said San Francisco health worker Dr. Susan Philip, who added that the person and his provider had sought a quick assessment.
Philip said on Friday that while most cases of smallpox resolve on their own, the cases can be “serious in rare cases and we want to prevent them from spreading further into the community.”
“San Francisco is prepared for this case and others, if there are more,” said Philip. “We want to emphasize that this is not a disease that spreads easily in the air like COVID-19, but we want people who may have been exposed to watch out for symptoms and see a doctor immediately if they develop symptoms for evaluation. . ”
None of the cases in the United States have resulted in deaths, and the “overwhelming majority” are among people who have recently traveled abroad in a time frame that suggests their exposure took place there, said Captain Jennifer McQueston, incident manager. about the CDC’s response to monkeypox during a media briefing on Friday.
Other patients may have had contact with a known case or have been identified by contact tracing. But at least one person has not traveled and the source of the infection is unknown, suggesting the virus could spread to the United States, CDC officials said.
“The ongoing investigation involves human-to-human transmission in the community and the CDC calls on health departments, clinicians and the public to remain vigilant, introduce appropriate infection prevention and control measures and notify public health authorities of suspected cases to reduce the spread of The disease, CDC researchers wrote in a report released Friday, which analyzed cases of monkeypox in the United States.
The risk to the public is still low, McQueston said. Officials expect the number of cases to increase as more tests and follow-up are made. Three confirmed cases have been found in California in Sacramento County and one in Los Angeles County.
Monkeypox is a type of orthopoxvirus, the same family of viruses that includes smallpox, although monkeypox is less contagious and less severe. Symptoms of monkeypox include a rash and skin lesions that rise and fill with fluid as they progress.
There are two federal-approved orthopoxvirus vaccines – Acam2000 and Jynneos – which are now being implemented for monkeypox, and one antiviral treatment.
Acam2000 should be taken after exposure, and Jynneos can be taken before or after exposure. The antiviral drug – tecovirimat, also known as Tpoxx – was originally licensed for smallpox, but can be used for monkeypox under a federal protocol that allows some drugs to be used for purposes other than those tested in clinical trials when there are no better alternatives available.
Federal health agencies have sent 1,200 doses of vaccine and 100 courses of treatment to eight states, said Dr. Raj Punjabi, who is coordinating the White House’s response to monkeypox. He did not specify which countries received them. The California Department of Public Health said Friday that the state received 200 doses of the Jynneos vaccine to be used as a preventative treatment for people who have been exposed to monkeypox.
Federal officials on the call would not say how many doses of vaccine or treatment are currently in stock. But there are “more than enough vaccines available,” and they are “pre-positioned across the country,” said Dawn O’Connell, assistant secretary of state emergency preparedness at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“The good news is that we already have the vaccines and treatments we need to respond,” O’Connell said.
Monkeypox can be spread from person to person through close physical contact, including sexual contact, through infected wounds, body fluids, or respiratory droplets.
Health officials in Europe, where several countries report outbreaks, recently said most or all of them are in men, and many report having had multiple sexual partners before becoming infected.
A CDC report released on Friday analyzed 17 patients in the United States with confirmed monkeypox infections as of May 31 and found that 14 of the 17 people had traveled abroad in the 21 days before symptoms began. Sixteen of the 17 identified as having sex with men. In many cases, the rash begins in the genital area.
“We are focusing our efforts on raising awareness in the LGBTQ-Plus community,” McQueston said.
There are more than 700 reported cases worldwide in at least 28 countries where monkeypox is not endemic. Monkeypox, a zoonotic disease that is most common in rodents and can spread to humans, is endemic in several Central and West African countries.
The last outbreak in the United States was in 2003, when about 70 cases were detected. Investigators traced the outbreak to a shipment of domestic prairie dogs imported from Ghana.
The CDC has called on healthcare providers to look out for monkeypox symptoms and test patients if they suspect it.
Catherine Ho (she) is a freelance writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: cho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Cat_Ho
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