NEW YORK (AP) — The spread of monkeypox in the U.S. could represent the dawn of a new sexually transmitted disease, though some health officials say the virus that causes pimple-like bumps might yet be contained before it gets firmly established.
Experts don’t agree on the likely path of the disease, with some fearing that it is becoming so widespread that it is on the verge of becoming an entrenched STD — like gonorrhea, herpes & HIV.
But no one’s really sure & some say testing & vaccines can still stop the outbreak from taking root.
So far, more than 2,800 U.S. cases have been reported as part of an international outbreak that emerged 2 months ago. About 99% have been men who reported having sex with other men.
Health officials are not sure how fast the virus has spread.
With such huge question marks, predictions about how big the U.S. outbreak will get this summer vary widely, from 13,000 to perhaps more than 10 times that number.
Monkeypox is endemic in parts of Africa, where people have been infected through bites from rodents or small animals. It does not usually spread easily among people.
But this year more than 15,000 cases have been reported in countries that historically don’t see the disease.
It spreads mainly through skin-to-skin contact, but it can also be transmitted through linens used by someone with monkeypox.
Symptoms include fever, body aches, chills, fatigue & the bumps on parts of the body. The illness has been relatively mild in many men & no one has died in the U.S. But people can be contagious for weeks & the lesions can be extremely painful.
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