52 Mpox Cases in Just Weeks: Unvaccinated Face Serious Threat

Mpox cases have doubled in this county of the US
Mpox cases have doubled in this county of the US. Credit | AP

United States: Public health officials in Los Angeles County issued a heightened advisory about mpox cases and added that people in high-risk settings should seek vaccination remedies for a potentially serious disease.

More about the news

On Monday, Public Health shared that with 52 cases of the disease having been reported in L.A. County within the last four weeks, the number is significantly higher compared to the last four weeks.

Among these new cases, around 70 percent of them, the affected were persons who had not been administered vaccines against mpox.

What more are the officials stating?

Local Health departments are advising that those at the highest risk of infection should get a two-dose vaccine against mpox, which is accessible to all persons and can be administered at various drugstores in L.A. County, ktla.com reported.

Public Health Clinics also provide the vaccine free of charge; no appointment is necessary while stocks last.

Vaccination recommendation

The vaccine is recommended for male or transgender individuals who engage in sexual contact with male or transsexual partners and for everybody who is involved in “commercial and/or transactional sex.”

They also urged it to be used by people involved in sexual or intimate physical contact at large public events, AIDS patients, and sexual partners of those mentioned in any of the above-said groups.

For those at high risk, it is recommended to take two doses of the vaccine – regardless of how long it has been since the first dose was taken.

About Mpox disease

Mpox, as the disease was known before it was renamed from monkeypox, is transmitted directly through direct contact with body fluids or lesions and through contact with infected fomites such as clothing and bed linen.

It can also be passed directly through contact with bodily fluids of saliva through mouth-to-mouth contact or activities such as kissing, coughing, and sneezing, ktla.com reported.

Some of the signs include fever, chills, head and muscular aches, swell lymph glands, and grouped blister-like sores on the face or on the genitals.

Those with symptoms, and especially those who have been traveling to Africa within the last twenty-one years, are urged to contact health experts for tests.