The monkeypox virus (photo credit: CDC/Cynthia S. Goldsmith)
ATLANTA – The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) confirmed a third case of monkeypox in the state Friday.
An Atlanta man who recently traveled to Chicago for a convention has been diagnosed with the disease, DPH spokeswoman Nancy Nydam said. The man’s case is unrelated to the previous two cases identified in the state.
The man is isolating and contact tracing has started, Nydam added.
The first suspected monkeypox case in Georgia was identified on June 1. The DPH noted a second case earlier this week at its monthly board meeting.
Monkeypox is a viral disease that causes the skin to break out in pustules. It was first detected in laboratory monkeys and then discovered in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The disease is usually mild but can be life threatening in some cases.
The current outbreak is unusual because 1,285 cases have confirmed in 28 countries where the disease is not typically found. The disease is considered endemic to certain central and western African areas.
Most of the cases in the current outbreak have been identified in the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal.
The cases in the current outbreak appear to have been transmitted through very close personal contact with someone else who had the lesions, state epidemiologist Cherie Drenzek said at a Board of Public Health meeting this week.
Often, the monkeypox infections have been found in people also infected with chlamydia, HPV, or syphilis, and many of the people with the disease identify themselves as men who have sex with men, Drenzek said.
People diagnosed with monkeypox in the current outbreak are not reporting the initial fever and gland swelling usually experienced at the start of the infection.
The rash also differs from that seen in typical monkeypox cases, with fewer lesions that are less pronounced than those usually seen. In the current outbreak, the rash often begins in the genital and perianal region and tends to progress more rapidly than in usual cases, Drenzek said.
There are currently no monkeypox-specific treatments, but medicines developed to treat smallpox can be helpful. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved two vaccines for monkeypox, according to the CDC.
“Anyone with a rash that looks like monkeypox should talk to their health-care provider, even if they don’t think they had contact with someone who has monkeypox,” the CDC advises. “The threat of monkeypox to the general U.S. population remains low.”
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Monkeypox rash (photo credit: Georgia Department of Public Health/CDC)
ATLANTA – Fewer than 10 children in Georgia have been diagnosed with pediatric hepatitis, State Epidemiologist Cherie L. Drenzek said at the state Board of Public Health’s (DPH) monthly meeting Tuesday.
The pediatric hepatitis outbreak began in Alabama in October 2021.
So, far 245 children in the United States have had the mysterious disease. Most needed to be hospitalized and nine have died.
It’s unclear what causes the disease. None of the children diagnosed so far had hepatitis viruses, but 45% did test positive for adenovirus type 41, a common childhood infection that is usually mild and causes gastrointestinal upset.
“[The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] is casting a really wide net to look at what potentially could be involved, other cofactors, previous infections,” Drenzek said.
Some staff members at Atlanta children’s hospitals are helping with the studies, Drenzek added.
Prior to this outbreak, public health officials did not closely track hepatitis in children, so it’s hard to determine whether the recently identified cases are much higher than typical rates, Drenzek said.
She emphasized that the disease remains very rare.
Monkeypox
Two Georgians have been diagnosed with monkeypox, Drenzek said. The Department of Public Health confirmed the first Georgia case earlier this month.
Drenzek said most of the approximately 65 known monkeypox cases in the United States have been among adult males between 23 and 76 years old, with a median age of 38.
The cases appear to have been transmitted through very close personal contact with someone else who had the lesions, Drenzek said.
Often the monkeypox infections have been found in people also infected with chlamydia, HPV, or syphilis and many of the people with the disease identify themselves as men who have sex with men, Drenzek said.
Most of the people with diagnosed cases had traveled recently – but not to the western and central African regions where monkeypox is endemic
People diagnosed with monkeypox in the current outbreak are not reporting the initial fever and gland swelling usually experienced at the start of the infection.
The rash also differs from that seen in typical monkeypox cases, with fewer lesions that are less pronounced than those usually seen. In the current outbreak, the rash often begins in the genital and perianal region and the disease tends to progress more rapidly than in usual cases.
COVID-19
Reported COVID-19 numbers in Georgia have increased about 20% in the last week. Hospitalization and death numbers have also increased slightly, Drenzek said.
Those numbers are likely an undercount because many people are testing at home and not reporting the results to public health agencies, she added.
Drenzek said the rates of infection in what she called the “sixth wave” of the virus are nowhere near what they were during the height of the pandemic.
More waves of COVID are expected this year, Drenzek said. She encouraged people to get vaccinated and boosted and to remain careful.
Infant formula
Sean Mack, the state’s WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program coordinator, provided an update on the infant formula shortage that began earlier this year when manufacturer Abbott recalled its infant formulas and shut down one of its formula factories.
Though Georgia’s WIC program did not have a contract with Abbott, the state’s supply of formula has also been impacted by the nationwide shortage. Georgia’s WIC program has loosened restrictions to allow participants to purchase different brands of formula, not just the Mead Johnson formula that is typically the only one allowed.
It has also loosened rules that prevented the return of formula to community food programs so that other families can use the precious formula.
Around half of infants born in Georgia rely on the WIC program for formula, Mack said.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Monkeypox rash lesions (photo credit: UK Health Security Agency)
An Atlanta man has contracted monkeypox, Nancy Nydam, spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH), confirmed this week. The man has a history of international travel.
DPH first alerted Georgians to the case last week. At that time, the patient was known to have monkeypox-like symptoms but further testing was needed to confirm the disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has now confirmed a monkeypox diagnosis.
“The individual remains in isolation at home, and DPH continues monitoring his symptoms and contact tracing – all of which began last week with the orthopoxvirus diagnosis,” Nydam said on Monday.
Monkeypox is one form of the orthopoxvirus. Others include variola, which causes smallpox.
There were no other suspected cases or orthopoxvirus or monkeypox in Georgia as of Monday, Nydam added. Nydam emphasized that this is the same case announced last week and not a new case.
Monkeypox is a viral disease that causes the skin to break out in pustules. It typically starts with a fever, lymph node swelling, muscle pains, and malaise, then progresses to a skin rash. The pustular rash can last two to four weeks, according to the World Health Organization.
The disease is usually mild but can be life-threatening in some cases.
The current outbreak is unusual because, as of last week, at least 780 confirmed cases have been identified in 27 countries where it is not typically found. The disease is considered endemic in certain central and western African areas.
Twelve American states and Washington D.C. had reported a total of 31 confirmed monkeypox/orthopoxvirus cases as of Monday, according to the CDC. That includes Georgia’s case and four from Florida.
So far, the World Health Organization has reported 207 confirmed cases in the United Kingdom, 156 in Spain, 138 in Portugal, and 58 in Canada.
Monkeypox can be transmitted among people through direct contact with the sores or bodily fluids, intimate contact, and respiratory secretions during “prolonged, face-to-face contact,” according to the CDC.
There are currently no monkeypox-specific treatments but medicines developed to treat smallpox can be helpful. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved two vaccines for monkeypox, according to the CDC.
“Anyone with a rash that looks like monkeypox should talk to their healthcare provider, even if they don’t think they had contact with someone who has monkeypox,” the CDC advises.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
The monkeypox virus (photo credit: CDC/Cynthia S. Goldsmith)
A metro Atlanta man has a confirmed case of orthopoxvirus, according to a statement released by the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) on Wednesday.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now testing to confirm if the disease is monkeypox, said DPH spokesperson Nancy Nydam.
Monkeypox is one form of the orthopoxvirus. Others include variola, which causes smallpox.
The Atlanta man has a history of international travel, Nydam said.
Monkeypox is a viral disease that causes the skin to break out in pustules. It was first detected in laboratory monkeys and then discovered in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the CDC.
Monkeypox typically starts with a fever, lymph node swelling, muscle pains, and malaise, then progresses to a skin rash. The pustular rash can lasts two to four weeks, according to the World Health Organization.
The disease is usually mild but can be life-threatening in some cases.
So far, the World Health Organization has reported 106 confirmed cases in Great Britain, 49 in Portugal, and 26 in Canada.
Monkeypox can be transmitted among people through direct contact with the sores or bodily fluids, intimate contact, and respiratory secretions during “prolonged, face-to-face contact,” according to the CDC.
