EL PASO, Texas — Health experts are discussing what the first confirmed case of monkeypox means for El Paso.
“We knew this was going to happen eventually, just like with SARS-COVID 2 it happened in many places around the country and eventually came to El Paso,” said Ogechika Alozie EO of Sunset West Health.
Monkeypox is a viral disease that can be spread through skin-to-skin contact. It looks like a blistered rash and can be painful or itchy. Symptoms of monkeypox include a rash, fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, and exhaustion.
Now that it has reached El Paso, health experts say the general public needn’t worry.
“It’s not airborne, it’s close physical contact. So far, 98 to 99 percent of the people who have gotten this have been men // the majority of El Paso residents are not at risk for this,” Alozzi said.
Still, some El Paso residents were concerned.
“I think it’s pretty crazy, I mean we’re not even out of the woods with covid but we’re still getting cases of it and now we’ve got monkeypox so it’s honestly kind of scary,” said El Pasoan Scott Turner.
Dr. Alozzi says that on average, a person with monkeypox can be contagious for up to 21 days, and the lesions and bumps can last for another 3 weeks. As long as they are present, a person is infected. He offers this advice if you catch monkeypox.
“If you’re sick, get out of circulation, if you have lesions, get out of circulation, go to your doctor and try to find out what it is, and if you’re in contact with someone who might have lesions, it’s best to you to avoid them for a while,” Alozzi said.
“I feel like we just got through one thing and now we’re going through another one, so it’s kind of overwhelming, but I mean, all we can do is move on and have faith,” Selena Abdallah.
Alozzi added that monkeypox, unlike COVID, spreads through tighter social networks with close physical contact taking an average of 3 hours.
According to a news release:
“Public health officials have confirmed that a woman in her 50s is the first confirmed case of monkeypox in the community. She is currently recovering at home and the city’s epidemiological team has begun an investigation and contact tracing.”
An epidemiological team is working to identify close contacts to offer them vaccines.
El Paso received 200 doses of the monkeypox vaccine earlier this month.
“Monkey pox continues to be a global threat, and for this reason we strongly encourage everyone to continue to take precautions to protect themselves and their families, especially our most vulnerable loved ones, from all diseases, whether it’s COVID, monkeypox or flu,” said Dr. Hector Ocaranza of the city’s health authorities.
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