US officials monitoring over 400 people for monkeypox; 21 cases confirmed

More than 800 cases of monkeypox have been reported in two dozen countries, and 21 cases of the disease have been confirmed in the US.

In a press briefing Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discussed details of the 17 US cases that officials have clinical data. The officials noted that genetic sequencing from some of the cases revealed two distinct lineages of the monkeypox virus, which may indicate that monkeypox has been quietly spreading among humans for much longer than previously known. It also deepens concern over whether the current outbreak can be contained entirely.

Low risk overall

There have been no deaths reported in the US. All of the 17 US cases are said to be doing well and isolating.

The West African clade is the clade of monkeypox virus that has been identified in the outbreak. The milder of the two known monkeypox clades, this one has a case fatality rate of 1 percent. The Congo Basin clade has an estimated death rate of up to 10 percent.

Humans are not easy to transmit the monkeypox in West and Central Africa. Direct, often sustained, skin-to-skin contact is one of the ways in which the large DNA virus can be spread.

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Overall, with the relatively mild illnesses, no deaths, and poor transmission, public health officials continue to assess the risk to general public health as low.

The deputy director of the CDC's Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology said that they don't want to minimize the condition. Monkeypox can cause a rash that can be spread across the body or into the genitalia. Some patients have said they need prescription pain medicine to manage their pain. Long-term scarring on the skin can be caused by the sores.

Network spread

Men who identify as gay or bisexual are the majority of the cases identified in the outbreak. In the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 16 of the 17 cases were in MSM.

Monkeypox can be spread by close contact during sex, even though it is not considered a sexually transmitted disease. The current outbreak appears to be centered around sexual networks. Health officials are cautioning against stigma. Many MSM have strong, established relationships with health care providers, particularly with sexual health services. Not all cases of MSM have been affected by the virus.