Doctor confirms second monkeypox case in Allegheny County – WPXI

Health / July 1, 2022 / Greatquotes / 0

PITTSBURGH — The second monkeypox case in Allegheny County has been confirmed by a doctor to Channel 11.

A doctor with Central Outreach Wellness Center said they are treating their second case of monkeypox. She said the second patient’s test results came back positive for the virus Thursday.

As of this afternoon, there are ten confirmed cases in Pennsylvania. All but two are from the Philadelphia area. The local cases were both treated at Central Outreach in the Northside.

Infectious disease specialist, Dr. Stacy Lane, treated both patients. She said the first confirmed case was not related to the second confirmed case.

“Initially the patient’s symptoms were mild. He eventually tested positive over the course of two days at West Penn Hospital, and the state confirmed he does have monkeypox,” Dr. Lane said.

She added that mostly men are contracting the virus.

“The virus is really targeting gay men. I think people should be conscious of their own skin, and others’ skin, before they have skin to skin contact,” she added.

On Tuesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention beefed up its response to the monkeypox outbreak, activating its emergency operations center.

Nearly 4,000 cases have been diagnosed globally since the outbreak began in May, according to World Health Organization data.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, monkeypox begins with:

Fever
Headache
Muscle aches
Backache
Swollen lymph nodes
Chills
Exhaustion

Within one to three days after having a fever, the patient develops a rash, often beginning on the face then spreading to other parts of the body.

Monkeypox spreads in different ways, according to the CDC, including the following:

direct contact with the infectious rash, scabs, or body fluids
Respiratory secretions during prolonged, face-to-face contact, or during intimate physical contact, such as kissing, cuddling, or sex
touching items (such as clothing or linens) that previously touched the infectious rash or body fluids
pregnant people can spread the virus to their fetus through the placenta

>>> Monkeypox: What is it, how dangerous is it, should you be concerned?

Specifically, the CDC is now advising health care providers to test for all rashes with clinical suspicion for monkeypox.

According to the CDC, “Currently, there is no proven, safe treatment for monkeypox virus infection. For controlling a potential outbreak, the smallpox vaccine is given.”

According to Dr. Lane, if you’ve been exposed to monkeypox, the key is getting the vaccine early.

“Time is of the essence. The sooner they get the vaccine, the better off they are.”

If you’ve been exposed, you should contact your doctor or the health department, and they can supply you with a smallpox vaccine, which also treats monkeypox.

Central Outreach Wellness Center said to “keep your hands to yourself” in order to stop the spread.

Here is the latest United States case count by state: https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/us-map.html

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CDC activates emergency operations center in response to monkeypox outbreak The action dedicates 300 CDC staff to cooperate with local, national and international outbreak-response partners (NCD)