US: CDC issues new monkeypox warning as more potential cases found
May 24, 2022
Washington [US], May 24 (ANI/Xinhua): The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a new warning regarding monkeypox on Monday as it is investigating four more suspected cases in the country.
Currently, the United States has reported one confirmed case of monkeypox which is in a man in Massachusetts, who recently returned home from Canada.
The four suspected cases are in New York, Florida and Utah. They tested positive for orthopoxvirus, the family of viruses to which monkeypox belongs.
"It is likely that there are going to be additional cases reported in the United States," said Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, a veterinarian and deputy director of the CDC's Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology.
The CDC is also tracking multiple clusters of monkeypox that have been reported in early- to mid-May in several countries that do not normally report monkeypox, including in Europe and North America.
"None of these people reported having recently been in central or west African countries where monkeypox usually occurs, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria, among others," said the CDC.
The CDC warned travelers to avoid close contact with sick people, including those with skin lesions or genital lesions, and avoid contact with dead or live wild animals such as small mammals including rodents, and non-human primates such as monkeys, and apes. (ANI/Xinhua)
