Six people who tested positive for monkeypox have died, health departments confirm
In its most recent update — released last week — CDC said it has confirmed 17 new monkeypox cases since the beginning of April.
The agency has already reported seven people who were infected with monkeypox. They include three staff members at a research institute in Michigan, a scientist at a university in Alabama and two health department employees in a California area. So far, none of the patients have died despite receiving high doses of an experimental drug.
Two people who contracted the disease have received the high dose of the antiviral drug to be used to prevent the virus from becoming resistant to treatment. If the drug is successful, the disease will probably spread and it will not be possible to contain the outbreak.
“We are actively monitoring those who became infected with monkeypox,’’ the CDC says of those confirmed so far.
The virus is an extremely dangerous virus. Anyone who comes into contact with it will develop the flu-like symptoms typical of monkeypox. But in rare cases, the disease can develop into a fatal disease that targets the immune system. The virus can mutate and spread even more easily.
The virus is highly contagious. If you have been exposed to the virus and have not yet developed the symptoms typical of monkeypox or have been infected but are not showing symptoms, the likelihood of you transmitting the virus to someone else is extremely high.
The disease can develop into a very serious disease that can be life-threatening and can require lengthy hospitalization.
“We do know that the virus is transmissible,” said Dr. Michael K. Osterholm, director of the Center for Virology at the University of Minnesota.
The CDC said that it has had “relatively few instances in which people were infected with the virus without developing the symptoms typically associated with monkeypox,’’ but it may be