This is an update on the Mpox (Monkeypox) outbreak of 2024. For more detailed information regarding Mpox, please visit our MPox Information page.
Who can catch Mpox (Monkeypox)?
- People who have sex with infected people.
- People who have direct contact with lesions/mucus membranes.
- People who have contact with bedding or other surfaces that have been in contact with infected people.
-Right now, the new variant of Mpox has been found in multiple countries in Africa and in the countries of Thailand, Sweden, and Pakistan. It is moderately more contagious than the older variant and somewhat more likely to cause severe disease.
-This will NOT LIKELY be the “New COVID,” since it is much harder to transmit than COVID (unless it mutates in a surprising way, such as becoming airborne), a vaccines already exist for MPox, and COVID-19 had a much higher severe disease and death rate associated with it in the early days of the pandemic.
-Still, it will likely make its way to the US and can cause some bad symptoms, a rash and, rarely, is fatal (thus far, there are approximately 500 deaths in approximately 20,000 cases (so 0.025%).
–There are no current recommendations to vaccinate the average traveler, even to countries that have documented cases of the newer strain of Mpox.
The CDC recommends vaccination against Mpox if:
- You have had a known or suspected exposure to someone with Mpox (see above for what constitutes an “exposure”).
- You have had a sex partner in the past 2 weeks who was diagnosed with Mpox.
- You are a gay, bisexual, or other man who has sex with men or a transgender, nonbinary, or gender-diverse person who in the past 6 months has had any of the following:
- A new diagnosis of one or more sexually transmitted diseases (e.g., chlamydia, gonorrhea, or syphilis).
- More than one sex partner.
- You have had any of the following in the past 6 months:
- Sex at a commercial sex venue (like a sex club or bathhouse).
- Sex related to a large commercial event or in a geographic area (city or county for example) where Mpox virus transmission is occurring.
- You have a sex partner with any of the above risks.
- You anticipate experiencing any of the above scenarios.
- You are at risk for occupational exposure to Orthopoxviruses (e.g., certain people who work in a laboratory or a healthcare facility).
Link to more and updated CDC information: https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/mpox/vaccines/vaccine-recommendations.html
-Julian Klapowitz, MD