By Kanishka Singh
Washington: The United States said it had identified nine monkeypox cases in seven states. In a sign monkeypox may be spreading within the United States, some individuals did not have a recent history of international travel.
As of Wednesday, the nine cases were confirmed in Massachusetts, Florida, Utah, Washington, California, Virginia and New York, the US Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) told reporters.
Most of the infections detected globally so far have not been severe. Many, but not all, have been reported in men who have sex with men. Symptoms include fever and a distinctive bumpy rash.
All of the US cases “are within gay, bisexual men and other men who have sex with men,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a news briefing on Thursday, Washington time. Walensky urged an approach that is “guided by science, not by stigma”.
“We need to presume that there is some community spread, but there is active contact tracing that is happening right now to understand whether and how these cases might have been in contact with each other or with others in other countries,” said Walensky.
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