The CDC increased its alert level as the nation's case count hit 30 and the global case count rose above 1,000.
Travelers are advised by the CDC to practice enhanced precautions to avoid contracting and spreading the rare viral disease. According to the CDC, people should avoid close contact with sick people, including those with a rash on their skin or genitals, and with dead or live animals.
Travelers should avoid contact with sick people or materials that came into contact with animals. They shouldn't prepare or consume meat from wild game.
"If you are sick and could have monkeypox, delay travel by public transportation until you have been cleared by a health care professional or public health officials," the CDC advised.
Everything you need to know about the Monkeypox outbreak.
The CDC advises people to seek medical attention if they develop a new, unexplained skin rash if the risk of catching monkeypox is low. Initially, these rashes look like discolored patches of skin, then raise bumps, blisters, and finally large, pus-filled cysts. The skin lesions fall off. The CDC states that there are other symptoms of monkeypox.
If you suspect you may have monkeypox, don't talk to other people. Before you go to a health care facility, inform the staff that you might have monkeypox. If you've recently traveled to a country where the monkeypox virus regularly circulates or if you've had recent contact with someone who has, tell your doctor.
According to the CDC, there have been over one thousand confirmed and suspected cases of monkeypox in 29 countries. The U.K. has reported 302 cases so far.
People in California, Colorado, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia and Washington state have been affected.
According to a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a high proportion of the cases in the U.S. affect men who have sex with men. Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease and is not more likely to affect a group of people than another. Live Science previously reported that some of the cases of men who have sex with men are thought to be linked to raves in Europe.
There are diseases that hop across species.
"CDC urges health care providers in the United States to be alert for patients who have rash illnesses consistent with monkeypox, regardless of a patient's gender or sexual orientation or a history of international travel."
Some groups are at risk of severe illness if they catch monkeypox, according to the CDC. People with weakened immune systems, children ages 8 and younger, pregnant and breastfeeding people, and people with previous infections are included in these groups.
There are no approved treatments for monkeypox, but there are a number of off-label treatments that can be used to treat the disease. The CDC said that people who have recently been exposed to the virus may be given a vaccine to reduce the severity of their symptoms. According to the agency's website, the vaccine should be given within 4 days from the date of exposure. It is possible to reduce the symptoms of disease, but it is not possible to prevent it.
The vaccine ACAM200 can be used for monkeypox under a new drug protocol.
Dawn O'Connell, the assistant secretary for Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said Friday that they have more than enough vaccine available.
It was originally published on Live Science
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