After a service member tested positive for monkeypox in Germany, the US military revealed the first documented instance of the disease.
A spokesperson for the US Navy, Capt. William Speaks, In a statement released Friday, European Command confirmed that a duty service member from the Stuttgart military community had tested positive for monkeypox.
The soldier, who has not yet been named, is being treated at the Stuttgart Army Health Clinic and is presently in isolation on site.
“Public Health Officials have determined that the risk to the overall population is very low. As a precautionary measure, contact tracing is being done for clinic staff who interacted with the patient. The case in Stuttgart is of the West African strain, which is generally mild and human-to-human transmission is limited,” Speaks continued.
From Hawaii to the East Coast, 45 cases of monkeypox have been reported in the United States.
Outside of the endemic areas of Africa, more than 1,300 cases have been discovered in around 30 additional countries.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention upped the monkeypox alert level to level 2 on Monday, advising individuals to take extra measures.
Humans actually get the monkeypox virus through coming into touch with the skin lesions or body fluids of infected animals or people, or by coming into contact with contaminated items.
Even though the bulk of new cases of monkeypox have been reported among homosexual or bisexual males, scientists warn that anybody can be infected.
Before lesions appear, monkeypox, which is linked to smallpox, has milder symptoms such as fever, chills, rash, and pains.
Officials claim that the risk to the general population in the United States is low, but they are taking steps to reassure the public that medical procedures are in place to address the rising problem.
In the United States, Jynneos, a two-dose vaccination for monkeypox, has been authorized.
According to Dawn O’Connell, who administers the government’s stockpile of emergency vaccinations and treatments, the US government has 72,000 Jynneos pills and will get 300,000 additional doses from its producer, Bavarian Nordic, in the coming weeks.
