Un paciente en Massachusetts tiene viruela del mono confirmada con la misma cepa detectada en Portugal, originaria de África occidental. Cuatro casos sospechosos adicionales están bajo investigación en Nueva York, Florida y Utah, todos en hombres, según los CDC.
EE.UU. confirma un caso de viruela del mono y registra cuatro sospechosos
Es probable que en las próximas semanas se detecten más casos
Mark
Why did this case in Massachusetts become the first confirmed one in the U.S., when Europe has been dealing with monkeypox for longer?
Mimi
The virus was already circulating in Europe before it reached America. This patient likely acquired it through contact with someone who had traveled or had direct exposure to the outbreak happening overseas. The genetic match to the Portugal case tells us the chain of transmission.
Mark
The officials keep saying it's not a sexually transmitted disease, but then they mention genital rashes and sex as a transmission route. What's the distinction they're making?
Mimi
They're being precise about terminology. It's not classified as an STI because you can catch it through any close contact—sharing a bed, touching lesions, respiratory droplets. Sex happens to be an intimate contact that creates ideal conditions for transmission, but so does living in close quarters or caring for someone who is sick.
Mark
Why are all five cases men? Is that a coincidence or a pattern?
Mimi
Right now it's too early to call it a pattern. The CDC epidemiologist was careful to note that the current cases cluster in gay and bisexual men, but that reflects where the virus has found footholds in the social networks it's reached so far. It doesn't mean women or heterosexual men are immune.
Mark
Biden said there are enough vaccines. How confident should people be in that?
Mimi
The statement is reassuring but also somewhat forward-looking. The U.S. has vaccine supplies, yes. But whether there are *enough* depends on how fast cases multiply. If the European surge is any indication, demand could outpace supply quickly.
Mark
What happens in the next two weeks?
Mimi
The CDC expects more confirmed cases. Right now they're watching four suspected cases closely. The question is whether this remains a handful of imported cases or whether sustained transmission takes hold domestically.
El Pulso
- Un caso confirmado en Massachusetts con cepa de África occidental, idéntica a la detectada en Portugal
- Cuatro casos sospechosos en Nueva York, Florida y Utah, todos en hombres
- Período de incubación de seis a veintiuno días; transmisión por contacto directo, fluidos corporales y materiales contaminados
- El presidente Biden aseguró que EE.UU. tiene vacunas suficientes y no aplicará cuarentenas
Un paciente en Massachusetts tiene viruela del mono confirmada con la misma cepa detectada en Portugal, originaria de África occidental. Cuatro casos sospechosos adicionales están bajo investigación en Nueva York, Florida y Utah, todos en hombres, según los CDC.
EE.UU. confirmó un caso de viruela del mono en Massachusetts y registra cuatro casos sospechosos en Nueva York, Florida y Utah. Las autoridades anticipan más casos en las próximas semanas.
A man in Massachusetts has tested positive for monkeypox, marking the first confirmed case in the United States. The diagnosis arrived as health officials were already tracking four additional suspected cases across New York, Florida, and Utah—all in men—according to an announcement Monday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The confirmed patient carries the same genetic sequence found in a case reported from Portugal, tracing back to a strain circulating in West Africa. The four suspected cases involve people who have tested positive for viruses in the monkeypox family, but the specific strain has not yet been definitively identified. All five patients are male.
Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease, meaning it jumps from animals to humans, but it also spreads between people through contact with lesions, bodily fluids, respiratory droplets, and contaminated materials like bedding. The incubation period typically runs six to thirteen days, though it can stretch to twenty-one. Symptoms resemble those of the eradicated smallpox but tend to be milder: fever, headache, muscle and back pain, chills, exhaustion, swollen lymph nodes, and a skin rash. In several cases, the rash first appears in the genital and anal areas.
Jennifer McQuiston, the CDC's deputy director, said it is "probable" that more cases will emerge in coming weeks, given the surge already documented across Europe. John Brooks, an epidemiologist at the CDC, emphasized during a phone briefing that while the disease is showing stronger incidence among gay and bisexual men, this does not mean the broader population cannot contract it. The virus is not technically a sexually transmitted infection, but it can spread during sex through intense skin-to-skin contact and by sharing bedding.
President Joe Biden, speaking from Tokyo on the same day, stated that the United States is well prepared to manage the monkeypox threat. He pointed to sufficient vaccine supplies and said the country will not implement quarantines as some other nations have done. The CDC's messaging underscores a delicate balance: acknowledging the current epidemiological pattern while cautioning against the assumption that risk is confined to any single group.
Citas Notables
Es probable que en las próximas semanas se detecten más casos de viruela del mono en el país, dado el aumento registrado en Europa— Jennifer McQuiston, subdirectora de los CDC
Si bien esta enfermedad está teniendo una incidencia más fuerte entre la comunidad de hombres gays y bisexuales, no significa que el resto de la población no pueda infectarse— John Brooks, epidemiólogo de los CDC
Quieres la nota completa?
Lee el original en infobae ↗
Health & Medicine