Public health officials have identified 45 cases of monkey pox in 15 states and the District of Columbia, up from 21 last week, said Rochelle Walensky, MD, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during a press briefing. , while more than 1,300 cases have been detected worldwide in 31 countries. However, no deaths have been reported and no Community transmission of monkey pox has yet been detected in any US city, CDC officials said. The majority of cases, 75 percent or more, appear to have been infected during international travel, officials said. Others have developed infection here through close contact with a known case of smallpox. During the briefing, Walensky dispelled concerns that monkey pox could be transmitted through suspended particles. “Monkey pox is not considered to remain in the air and is not usually transmitted during short periods of common airspace,” Walensky said. “The virus is not considered to be transmitted through interactions, such as having an occasional conversation, going through the grocery store or touching the same objects, such as a door knob.” But humans can catch monkey pox through respiratory secretions during “close, constant face-to-face contact,” Walensky added. However, the virus most often “spreads through direct contact with body fluids or wounds in the body of someone who has monkey pox or by direct contact with materials that have touched these body fluids and stores such as clothing or linen.” The monkey pox virus involved in this global outbreak appears to be milder than other strains, which can cause rashes in many parts of the body as well as flu-like symptoms, Walensky said. The rash may resemble sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as herpes or syphilis, Walensky warned. Doctors should test for smallpox in suspected cases of STDs. The United States has enough smallpox vaccine to “vaccinate millions of Americans if needed” against monkeypox, Dawn O’Connell, assistant secretary of preparedness and response to the US Department of Health and Human Services, said during the briefing. . More information