El Paso.– The El Paso Department of Public Health on Wednesday confirmed its first two cases of mpox this year. Both cases were men in their 40s who live in the same household. The epidemiology team has begun contact tracing efforts to identify their close contacts and provide them with vaccines, according to a news release from the city.
The city began vaccination efforts in 2022 after the global outbreak reached the United States, administering the vaccine to more than 500 people, including healthcare workers. Data provided by the health department showed that El Paso had seven cases of mpox in 2022 and 2023, almost all of them in men.
Mpox is a smallpox-like viral disease that is spread through close contact, usually skin-to-skin, with an infected person. Symptoms include skin lesions that form scabs and take two to three weeks to fall off.
The virus disproportionately affects men who have sex with men. Although MPOX was not originally considered a sexually transmitted infection, some health experts argue that it should be classified as an STI because it is often spread through sexual activity.
El Paso currently has about 200 vaccines available for at-risk individuals and those identified as close contacts of confirmed cases, and more vaccines are requested to meet community needs, according to a news release from the city.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists risk groups that include people exposed to someone with mpox, men who have sex with men and recently had more than one sexual partner, and people at risk for occupational exposure, such as in a setting of medical care.
Dr. Ogechika Alozie, an infectious disease specialist in El Paso, recommends that only people in high-risk situations receive the vaccine since doses are limited.
The Texas Department of Health and Human Services has reported at least 240 cases of mpox so far this year, with the vast majority of them occurring in the Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and Austin areas. The spread of mpox has slowed since the start of the outbreak in 2022, but certain large metropolitan areas have seen an uptick in cases in recent months.
“Coronavirus pneumonia continues to pose a threat to global health, and we urge all people at risk to remain alert and practice preventive measures to protect themselves and their families,” said Dr. Héctor Ocaranza, health authority of the city and county of El Paso, in a press release. “This includes protecting the most vulnerable members of our community not only from coronavirus pneumonia, but also from other illnesses such as Covid-19 and the flu.”
