CDC warns of possible monkeypox outbreak recurrence this summer – majority of new cases are in people vaccinated against the disease

05/26/2023 / By Belle Carter

Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently warned that there is a “substantial risk” of monkeypox outbreak recurrence this summer, days after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it to no longer be a global health emergency.

On May 15, the CDC issued a “Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Update” saying that there had been a total of 12 confirmed and one probable case of monkeypox reported to the Chicago Department of Public Health from April 17 to May 5.

“All cases were among symptomatic men. None of the patients have been hospitalized. Nine (69 percent) of 13 cases were among men who had received two Jynneos vaccine doses. Confirmed cases were nine (69 percent) non-Hispanic white men, two (15 percent) non-Hispanic black men, and two (15 percent) Asian men. The median age was 34 years (range 24–46 years),” the alert included that travel history was available for nine cases as four recently traveled to New York City, New Orleans and Mexico.

The discovery in Chicago has led experts to call for more inquiries into the efficacy and duration of the vaccines used during last year’s outbreak. But health officials still think vaccination is the ultimate solution to the problem.

“Without renewed vaccination and prevention efforts, we are at risk for a resurgence of monkeypox,” said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, the deputy coordinator of the White House national monkeypox response. “Vaccine is a really important tool, even if it’s not perfect.”

Meanwhile, diagnosed cases have been “increasing slightly” in eight countries in recent weeks, including France and several countries in East Asia, said Dr. Rosamund Lewis, the WHO technical lead for monkeypox. About half of the recent French cases were in vaccinated people.

Monkeypox virus is resistant to main antiviral drug used against it

In an unpublished study that is yet to be peer-reviewed, the CDC reported monkeypox strains had turned up with signs of resistance to tecovirimat (TPOXX), the main antiviral drug used to treat patients.

“These findings inform our understanding of when tecovirimat resistance is likely to occur and highlight the need for additional [Orthopoxvirus] OPXV therapeutics,” the research indicated. Moreover, one of the worrying mutations was also detected “in a cluster of cases” around Los Angeles. This means that drug-resistant monkeypox can be transmitted person-to-person.

CBS News reported that the U.S. is still averaging less than three cases reported each day. In total, 32 infections have so far been diagnosed for the month of May nationwide. Last month had reached a sum of 41 monkeypox cases.

Meanwhile, reports stated that public health experts have been worried about the possible rise in cases this summer, especially this June, as gay men travel to festival parades and other major LGBTQIA events for Pride Month.

“The risk of near-term clusters and outbreaks is substantial and the outbreaks could be large, especially in the warmer months, with planned gatherings that may have the potential for skin-to-skin contact and increased sexual activity,” said Dr. Christopher Braden, head of the CDC’s monkeypox response. (Related: PRIDE month kicks off with MONKEYPOX outbreak in the homosexual community.)

“We’ve already, really immediately after seeing the Chicago cluster, convened folks within the U.S. government to discuss what the data is that we have and if there needs to be any change,” Daskalakis told reporters last week. For now, Daskalakis said the CDC is still urging at-risk Americans to get the initial two doses of the Jynneos vaccine.

Learn more about monkeypox outbreaks in the U.S. at MonkeypoxReport.com.

Watch Stew Peters and Dr. Lee Merritt talking about monkeypox and gays being used as guinea pigs to test experimental vaccines for the disease.

This video is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com.