Stanislaus County reports a second case of monkeypox. Will vaccine be available?
Stanislaus County has confirmed a second case of monkeypox, as the new contagious disease threat creates more alarm in the state.
Both of the county residents infected had exposure outside the county, Kamlesh Kaur, a county public health spokeswoman, said Friday.
The county confirmed its first case of monkeypox disease on July 19. County public health officials did not release details of the second case, other than saying the person was exposed to monkeypox outside the county.
The county is not seeing community-wide transmission of the virus, Kaur said by email.
“We are increasing our education efforts in the community with various community-based organizations, so people are aware of how the disease spreads and actions to take so they can stay protected,” Kaur said.
A growing number of cases prompted San Francisco to declare a monkeypox state of emergency, effective Monday. The California Department of Public Health had not updated its case count Friday, which showed 786 cases statewide, including 257 cases in San Francisco, 50 in Alameda County, 41 in Santa Clara County and 18 in Contra Costa County.
San Joaquin County had four reported cases, and 34 cases were confirmed in Sacramento County.
Monkeypox is typically spread through close contact with an infected individual or skin-to-skin intimate contact. State health officials say the disease mostly spreads through contact with infectious sores, scabs, or body fluids, through sex or activities such as kissing, hugging and cuddling.
It’s possible to spread the virus by touching items used by an infected individual that haven’t been cleaned, such as towels or bedding.
According to the California Department of Public Health, the symptoms may start with a fever, swollen lymph nodes and body aches, leading to a rash or sores on the skin. The sores may look like pimples or blisters and change into scabs before they heal.
The sores may be near the genitals or hands, feet, chest or face, the state health department says. People usually recover in two to four weeks. State health officials have reported 11 people hospitalized with the viral illness in California.
According to national and state health officials, the surge of monkeybox has primarily occurred in men who have sex with men. In California, 98% of the monkeypox cases have been in men, and 97% were people with gay, lesbian or bisexual orientation, according to state data. The cases have included three women.
The World Health Organization is advising gay and bisexual men not to have sexual relations with multiple partners, in order to slow transmission globally.
The state Department of Public Health said more than 25,000 doses of monkeypox vaccine have been distributed to local health agencies and mobile clinics in California. The state said it allocates the vaccine doses to counties based on cases and the estimated number of people likely to be exposed.
Stanislaus County still has a “very limited” number of doses, Kaur said, adding that people with direct exposure to cases are given priority for the vaccine.
California is expecting to receive 72,000 additional doses of the monkeypox JYNNEOS vaccine through the federal government, which also will supply 48,000 doses to Los Angeles County.
There is also limited access to an antiviral drug, tecovirimat, that is able to treat monkeypox. The state Department of Public Health said it’s expanding the treatment option; the drug can be administered by more than 30 medical facilities and health care providers in the state.
People seeking treatment were advised to ask their health care provider for options.
Stanislaus County Health Services Agency has additional information about monkeypox at www.schsa.org.
This story was originally published July 29, 2022 at 1:26 PM.
