Placer County records first monkeypox case. What to know as California reaches 650
Placer County has recorded its first probable or confirmed case of monkeypox in a resident, the second county to do so in California’s four-county capital region, more than two months after Sacramento confirmed the first in the state.
The California Department of Public Health, in an update Tuesday afternoon to its monkeypox data tracking webpage, listed Placer County with a single case of the virus.
The case was identified by a health care provider, Placer County public health officials said in a news release Wednesday afternoon. The infected person, who was “likely exposed during in-state travel,” is now isolating.
“Given other cases across the region and state, it is not surprising to see a case in Placer County, and I expect we may see more,” the county’s interim health officer Dr. Rob Oldham said in a statement. “It is good to be aware, yet the risk of infection to the general public remains low.”
Sacramento County, meanwhile, has now recorded nearly three dozen cases of the virus. Cases as of Tuesday had not been found in nearby El Dorado or Yolo counties, according to CDPH and health officials in those counties.
Sacramento’s local health office in a Wednesday morning update reported 34 total cases of the virus among county residents since the outbreak started in late May.
New cases have come at an accelerating rate in Sacramento over the past two weeks. Twenty-six of the 34 have been found since July 12. Leading up to that date, the county went 19 days in a row without any cases added.
The county has reported seven new cases so far this week: two Monday and five Wednesday.
Sacramento County’s first case was found in a resident who recently returned from international travel. The next four cases were linked via contact tracing to the first case.
Since then, cases have been identified in those returning from domestic travel, through contact tracing and in those with infections showing up to their health care provider with symptoms, health officials said.
A full breakdown of the exposure source for all 34 cases was not immediately available. A county health spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The local health office in early July announced that it was “expanding preventative vaccine availability criteria to include MSM (men who have sex with men) and/or transgender (people) at high risk of exposure to monkeypox,” in line with a nationwide push to limit spread.
“Individuals who meet high-risk criteria may benefit from getting a two-dose monkeypox vaccine as a form of prevention,” county health officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye said at the time.
The World Health Organization on Saturday declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern.
Latest monkeypox vaccine numbers in Sacramento
The Sacramento County public health office has administered at least 570 doses of the two-dose vaccines and redistributed another 1,695 to partner organizations, a county spokesperson said Monday, for a total of 2,265 doses made available to county residents.
The state health department had allocated 2,272 doses of the Jynneos vaccine to the Sacramento County health office as of Tuesday, and 25 doses to the Placer County health office. Allocations to Placer will likely increase now that the virus has been located there.
The LGBT Community Center, in midtown’s Lavender Heights neighborhood, held a four-hour walk-in clinic Monday, staffed by county health staff. Pucci’s Pharmacy, on Folsom Boulevard in East Sacramento, is administering vaccines on an appointment-only basis, according to its website.
Monkeypox numbers for California, U.S. and world
CDPH in Tuesday’s update reported 646 cases across 24 of California’s 58 counties. The total did not yet include Sacramento’s five most recent cases.
Los Angeles County has seen the most at 223, followed by San Francisco at 215, Alameda at 45 and Santa Clara at 34, according to CDPH. Contra Costa and San Diego counties have also reached double digits at 15 and 13, respectively.
San Mateo, Riverside, Sonoma, Solano, Santa Cruz, Kern, San Joaquin, Monterey, Ventura, Orange and Marin counties have each recorded between two and nine monkeypox cases, per CDPH figures, as have the cities of Berkeley and Long Beach.
CDPH as of Tuesday listed Placer as well as Butte, Fresno, San Bernardino, Stanislaus and Tulare each at one case.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a data tracker also updated Tuesday, recorded 3,591 infections nationwide, up from 2,891 on Monday and 1,814 on Friday.
The CDC data is an undercount, though, as its Tuesday update still listed California at only 356 cases.
New York had the most cases of any state at 900, per the CDC’s latest update. California, Florida, Illinois, Georgia, Texas and D.C. had all also reported more than 100 cases, and the virus has been detected in every state except Alaska, Montana, Vermont and Wyoming.
More than 19,000 cases had been detected globally across 76 countries, the CDC reported Tuesday evening.
The CDC announced last Friday that two children had been diagnosed with monkeypox: a California toddler, and an infant who is not a U.S. resident.
How is monkeypox spread?
Spread of monkeypox is linked to prolonged, skin-to-skin exposure, according to experts.
Symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. The patient typically develops a rash, often beginning on the face and spreading to other parts of the body, normally about one to three days after fever.
The incubation period is typically one to two weeks but can range up to three weeks, and the illness typically lasts two to four weeks, according to a county news release.
Doctors and public health officials urge residents to practice safe sex. These practices may include abstaining from sex, practicing monogamy and using condoms during sex to limit exposure to the virus.
Who should get a vaccine?
The county recommends that men who have sex with men and transgender people who meet one or more of these factors should get vaccinated:
▪ Tested positive for a sexually transmitted infection in the last two months
▪ Had more than two sexual partners in the past three weeks
▪ Visited or worked at a commercial sex venue in the last three weeks
▪ Had anonymous sex — which are encounters when parties do not know each others’ identities — in the last three weeks
▪ Engaged in sex work in the past three weeks
Those who meet one or more of the above criteria are eligible for vaccination at Sacramento’s clinics.
This story was originally published July 27, 2022 at 12:35 PM.
