Monkeypox: Los Angeles Confirms First Death From Disease But U.S. Cases Continue To Drop

Breaking Business Monkeypox: Los Angeles Confirms First Death From Disease But U. S. Cases Continue To Drop Madeline Halpert Forbes Staff Following New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories.

Got it! Sep 13, 2022, 09:01am EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline A Los Angeles resident who was severely immunocompromised has died of monkeypox after being hospitalized, local officials said Monday, marking the first confirmed death due to the disease, though fatalities remain rare and cases in the U. S. continue to fall.

A medical laboratory technician shows a suspected monkeypox sample. Getty Images Key Facts The news follows the death of another patient in Texas, also severely immunocompromised and diagnosed with monkeypox, though officials said the patient had several illnesses and have yet to determine the cause of death. The Los Angeles case comes as new monkeypox infections in the city have begun to slow, with only 32 new cases reported the week ending September 10, compared to 141 the week before, according to the Los Angeles County Public Health Department.

Other cities with major outbreaks have also reported a drop in new cases, including New York City and San Francisco , due to increased availability of vaccines and behavior changes among men who have sex with men, who have been disproportionately affected by the outbreak. Tangent Several universities have reported cases of monkeypox since students have returned to campus. Some colleges have emphasized that the risk posed by monkeypox is different than that of Covid-19, as monkeypox is only spread through close contact with an infected person or contaminated materials.

Schools are taking a number of steps to prepare, they told Forbes last month, including by coordinating with local and federal health authorities and providing training from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for student health services workers. Key Background Some 18 deaths have been reported in the ongoing monkeypox outbreak, including eight in countries that have not historically experienced outbreaks, according to the CDC. At least ten deaths have been reported in Africa this year as well, where the virus is endemic in certain regions, though smaller outbreaks across the continent have not received much international attention in the past.

Case fatality rates for monkeypox in recent years are between 3% to 6%, according to the World Health Organization, and symptoms typically resolve after two to four weeks. The U. S.

is also trying to ramp up the availability of the antiviral Tpoxx to help treat the disease. Both the U. S.

and the WHO have declared monkeypox a public health emergency to help streamline resources, while the U. S. has approved a new vaccination strategy to stretch supplies of the Jynneos vaccine, the only shot specifically approved by the Food and Drug Administration to protect against monkeypox.

With more vaccines available in the U. S. and in Europe, the initial epicenter of the outbreak, monkeypox cases have begun to decline globally in recent weeks, though dozens of lower-income countries also experiencing outbreaks have struggled to access adequate supply of vaccines, according to the New York Times .

Further Reading Monkeypox: Here’s How Colleges Are Preparing For Possible Outbreaks As Students Return (Forbes) Monkeypox Infections Reported by Colleges Raise Concerns of Campus Spread (Bloomberg) First US death due to monkeypox confirmed in Los Angeles County (CNN) Check out my website . Send me a secure tip . Madeline Halpert Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.