The summer is approaching… and this infection is again on the rise among gay men

There’s been double the number of mpox cases in the US so far this year compared to the same period in 2023.

Formerly called monkeypox, the World Health Organization came up with the ‘mpox’ name change last year. Before 2022, it was commonly only found in parts of West and Central Africa.

Then, in the summer of 2002, it exploded in the US and Europe. It soon became apparent that the vast majority of cases were in gay men.

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According to the CDC, in the US in 2022, there were 31,698 known cases of mpox and 56 deaths. The majority of deaths occured in immunocompromised people, including those with HIV.

Gay men were urged to take advantage of the mpox vaccine. The epidemic subsided toward the end of 2022.

Now, according to the CDC, there is a year-to-date estimate of 511 US cases as of mid-March. That compares to 287 cases during the same period last year.

One of the worst-hit areas, like in 2022, is New York. The state has dealt with 100 cases so far this year, compared with only 30 by mid-March 2023.

California has had 64 cases this year (compared to 35 during the same period in 2023) and Florida 60 (up from 27).

Virginia warning

Last week, the Virginia Department of Health issued its own statement on an increase in cases in the state.

“Since January 1, 2024, 12 mpox cases have been reported to VDH from the Central, Eastern, Northern, and Northwest health regions; of these, four patients required hospitalization, six were co-infected with HIV, and none had been previously vaccinated,” it said. “For comparison, there were 12 reported mpox cases in all of 2023.”

The advice from health officials remains the same. Anyone who is at high risk of acquiring mpox should take the double dose of the vaccine. They stress that if anyone has only had one shot, they should make an effort to get the second shot to complete the course.

No vaccine is 100% effective and you may still show signs of infection, but it’s likely to be less severe than if you don’t get vaccinated.

Signs and symptoms of mpox

Mpox is characterized by a painful rash of blisters. This can occur on hands, feet, chest, face, or mouth or near the genitals, including the penis, testicles, labia, vagina, and anus.

There is an incubation period of 3-17 days, during which time those infected may feel fine. Symptoms tend to last for 21 days. Besides the rash, those infected may also experience fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, muscle aches, exhaustion, sore throat and congestion.

“Our fight against mpox relies heavily on our collective action to get vaccinated, especially in high-risk scenarios. The increase in cases is a stark reminder of the virus’s presence and the ongoing need for vigilance and preventive measures,” Dr. John Brownstein, chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, told ABC News.

Last December, the CDC issued an alert over a more dangerous form of the mpox virus that was circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DNC).

The DNC usually has around 3,000 cases a year but had over 12,000 in 2023. Of those, more than 600 people died. The CDC said it was down to a ‘Clade 1’ variant of the mpox virus. The less severe ‘Clade II’ variant caused the 2022 outbreak in the US. There’s no indication yet that the more deadly variant is causing the rise in cases in the US.

Related:

CDC issues warning over new, more deadly strain of mpox

It’s surging in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has also been detected in a Belgian man.