INDIANAPOLIS — Presumed positive monkeypox cases continue to rise, including in Marion and other counties.
The Marion County Public Health Department said the total number of presumed positive cases is 17. The health department announced its first two cases July 13.
The Tippecanoe County Health Department also reported three confirmed cases of Monkeypox on Thursday.
NOTE: The video above is from a previous report on Indiana health leaders preparing for monkeypox cases.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in 74 countries since about May. To date, monkeypox deaths have only been reported in Africa, where a more dangerous version of the virus is spreading, mainly in Nigeria and Congo.
The CDC's last update on numbers for Indiana showed 37 confirmed cases.
"We must all be vigilant in understanding that, while some individuals are at a higher risk for monkeypox, it can spread to anyone," said Virginia A. Caine, M.D., director and chief medical officer of the Marion County Public Health Department. "Be aware of the symptoms, and please seek the help of a medical provider if you have any questions."
On July 23, the World Health Organization declared the monkeypox outbreak a global emergency, which is the organization's highest level of alert — but the designation does not necessarily mean a disease is particularly transmissible or lethal.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the decision on calling monkeypox a global emergency despite a lack of consensus among experts on the U.N. health agency's emergency committee, saying he acted as "a tiebreaker." It was the first time a U.N. health agency chief has unilaterally made such a decision without an expert recommendation.
Symptoms of monkeypox include a rash, which may look like pimples or blisters, and can spread through person-to-person contact in several different ways, including:
- Direct contact with monkeypox rash, sores, or scabs from a person with monkeypox. This is believed to be the most common way that virus is spreading in the U.S.
- Contact with objects, fabrics (clothing, bedding, or towels), and surfaces that have been used by someone with monkeypox.
- Contact with respiratory secretions during prolonged, face-to-face contact, or during intimate physical contact, such as kissing, cuddling, or sex.
- During pregnancy, the virus can spread to a fetus through the placenta.
The Marion County Public Health Department is administering monkeypox vaccine post-exposure to those who are determined by the health department to be a known contact to a monkeypox case.
Click here for more information on monkeypox.
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