What to know about monkeypox’s spread and finding a vaccine in Sacramento
August 4, 2022 - As monkeypox cases grow to the thousands in the United States, California is the third state in the country — following New York and Illinois — to announce a state of emergency in response to the outbreak. The World Health Organization, New York City and the city of San Francisco did the same last week.
Sacramento County currently has the fifth-most cases of monkeypox in the state, according to data from a state dashboard updated July 28.
While the dashboard shows men who have sex with men making up the majority of current cases, experts say under-testing means overall monkeypox cases — regardless of one’s sexuality — are higher than shown. That said, vaccination efforts have largely focused on men who have sex with men since community transmission is more likely based on the proportion of cases.
The virus has different transmission patterns than COVID-19, with the most likely methods of infection prolonged skin-to-skin contact and touching infected surfaces. While it results in fewer hospitalizations, monkeypox infection can still saddle you with a fever and a painful rash that may occur on your genitals, face, hands or feet. Children and immunocompromised people face increased danger if they’re infected.
While respiratory transmission is rare, because it can occur, wearing a mask or good-quality respirator like a N95, KF94 or KN95 can help prevent monkeypox infection via that route.
Read more here.
Source: <https://www.capradio.org/articles/2022/08/01/what-to-know-about-monkeypoxs-spread-and-finding-a-vaccine-in-sacramento/>