At least two genetically distinct variants of monkeypox are circulating in the United States, according to new data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Although the CDC has yet to sequence the 22 confirmed cases in the United States, two of them have been found to be genetically similar to a 2021 infection in a man from Texas who traveled to Nigeria. These two cases involve people who have recently traveled to Africa – a woman from Virginia and a man from Florida.
The other sequenced US cases resemble the genetic codes of European cases and a 2021 infection in a resident of Maryland who traveled to Nigeria.
“Although they look alike, their genetic analysis shows they are not related to each other,” Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the CDC’s High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology Division, said of the findings. two variants during a press briefing.
Disease experts have said the new information suggests the US cases stem from two outbreaks instead of one, making it harder to understand their origins.
As part of a nationwide public health effort to eradicate the disease before it causes a major outbreak, the Biden administration distributed 1,200 doses of monkeypox vaccine to people who were at high risk. of virus infection.
CDC officials sought to reassure the public by explaining that the arrival of monkeypox in the United States is very different from that of Covid-19, which took health authorities by surprise two years ago.
Last week, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, told reporters that the United States has been preparing for an epidemic from a virus like monkeypox for decades. The United States has millions of vaccine doses in the national strategic stockpile that protect against monkeypox and smallpox, as well as antiviral pills to treat these diseases.
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