By Laura Garcia STAFF WRITER
Local public health officials urge San Antonio residents to avoid close, skin-to-skin contact in large crowds where people are wearing minimal clothing amid confirmation of an eighth case of monkeypox.
There are 107 reported cases of monkeypox in Texas and 2,891 cases across the United States.
Risk of infection remains low, said Dr. Anita Kurian, assistant director of the Metropolitan Health District’s communicable disease division.
Nevertheless, she said people should avoid situations such as music festivals, nightclubs, raves, saunas and bathhouses in which they could come into contact with someone who has a new, unexplained rash.
Her cautionary guidance comes as the World Health Organization on Saturday declared the spread of monkeypox a global emergency, which triggers a coordinated international response to contain the threat and reduce transmission.
Nearly 75 countries have reported more than 16,800 cases of the rare disease that is similar to smallpox, but milder.
Monkeypox is rarely fatal and usually does not require hospitalization, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches and backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion and a rash that can resemble pimples or blisters that appear inside the mouth and on the face, hands, feet and genital area.
The illness typically lasts two to four weeks and can spread to others through direct contact, intimate and physical interactions, or by touching items that previously touched the infectious rash or body fluids.
Sick people should self-isolate until the rash has fully healed, the scabs have fallen off and a fresh layer of intact skin has formed.
Metro Health is tracking the local spread of the virus as reported by health care providers and individuals.
The city-county public health department is tracing the contacts of the eight infected people to provide post-exposure prophylaxis to anyone who has had direct contact with them.
Metro Health urges anyone who has been exposed to monkeypox or has symptoms to contact their health care provider as soon as possible to get tested and treatment. laura.garcia@express-news.net