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Two more severe cases of mpox have been reported in California in the United States, the first of their kind in people with no recent travel history.
Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services officials confirmed the first case earlier this week after running laboratory tests at a state laboratory.
The second case was confirmed in Los Angeles, where county officials reported a similar patient.
“We are taking this very seriously and making sure our community and health care partners remain vigilant so we can prevent any further cases,” Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said in a press release. “This underlines the importance of continued surveillance, prompt response and vaccination,” he said.
Officials further said that the risk of its spread among the public remains low.
MPOX cases in California
There are two types of Mpox – clade I and clade II. Both patients have been identified with the clade I variant of mpox, a more severe strain.
Although this is not the first time that cases of cladistic eye pox have been identified in the United States, the most recent cases are where patients do not show a history of recent travel. All six other cases were among international travelers who are believed to have been infected abroad.
The patients had to be hospitalized after diagnosis and are now recovering at home.
Officials refused to give any details about the patients. Jennifer Ann Gonzalez, acting public affairs officer for the Long Beach Health Department, said that “at this point in our investigation, we have not identified any connection between the two cases”.
Long Beach is located in Los Angeles County but has its own city health department. Investigators there say they have not found any close contacts who have traveled abroad, nor have they confirmed additional MPOX cases. Some close contacts of the person have been vaccinated, said Nora Balanji, communicable diseases coordinator for the Long Beach department.
“We have no evidence that community transmission is going on,” he said. “It’s something we’re looking into. It’s something we’re concerned about.”
What is MPOX? What are its symptoms?
Monkeypox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral disease caused by monkeypox virus, a species of the genus Orthopoxvirus, according to the World Health Organization.
There are two distinct groups of viruses: clade I (with subclades Ia and Ib) and clade II (with subclades IIa and IIb). The global outbreak of Mpox in 2022–2023 was caused by a clade IIb strain.
Common symptoms of MPOX include:
- rash
- Fever
- sore throat
- Headache
- muscle pain
- back pain
- low energy, and
- Swollen lymph nodes.
In more severe cases, people may have sores on their face, arms, chest, and genitals.
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