Monkeypox outbreak: WHO working on sexual contact theory, top adviser says

A senior adviser for the World Health Organization has said the monkeypox outbreak seems to be spreading through sexual contact, and warned that case numbers could spike over the summer months as people attend major summer gatherings and festivals.

Heymann told Reuters the WHO is working on the theory that cases so far identified were driven by sexual contact.

Heymann, a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said experts were likely to give more guidance to countries in the coming days. Health officials in several countries have warned that cases could rise further over the summer.

The warning comes as a New York City resident has tested positive for the virus that causes monkeypox, health officials said, with the federal Centers for Disease Control investigating to determine whether the rare disease is actually present.

The notification came a day after authorities in New York City said they were investigating two potential cases. One of those potential cases in the city was ruled out, the state health department said.

City epidemiologists have begun contacting people who may have been exposed to the person infected with Orthopoxvirus, the family of viruses that includes monkeypox. State and city officials have said they will try to determine how the New York patient was infected.

People with severe cases can also develop rash and pus-filled lesions on the face, palms of the hands and other body parts.

The virus does not spread easily between people, though officials have said transmission can occur through contact with body fluids, monkeypox sores, items that have been contaminated with fluids or sores such as clothing and bedding, or through respiratory droplets following prolonged face-to-face contact.

The apparent infection in New York comes as the WHO has identified about 80 cases globally, along with roughly 50 more suspected cases. The WHO warned more cases are likely to emerge.

Infections have been confirmed in nine European countries, as well as the US, Canada and Australia.

Health officials in Massachusetts confirmed its first case of the disease on Wednesday. Officials in the state have said the patient recently traveled to Canada.

Cases of monkeypox periodically show in the US. Last year, Texas and Maryland each reported a case in people who had recently traveled to Nigeria. In 2003, there was a six-state outbreak that infected 47 people.

The advisory also gives infection control information to healthcare providers.

People who are exposed to monkeypox, which has a slow incubation period, can be given smallpox vaccines already in circulation to curb the severity of the sickness, according to the CDC.