Source of US monkeypox outbreak of identified, and CDC issues
updated interim guidance for prevention and treatment of monkeypox
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in
the United States (US) believes it has identified the source of the current
outbreak of monkeypox, after confirming the presence of monkeypox virus in
one Gambian giant rat, three dormice, and two rope squirrels that were part
of a shipment of African rodents imported into the US on 9 April. (1)
As of 1 July, 81 cases of human monkeypox had been reported to CDC (2).
CDC and local US state health departments continue to investigate cases
among persons who had contact with pet prairie dogs or other small mammals
(3). Thirty two (40%) of the 81 cases have been laboratory confirmed for
monkeypox (2).
The reported cases are widely dispersed over the midwestern states. So
far there have been reports from Illinois (16), Indiana (22), Kansas (one),
Missouri (two), Ohio (one), and Wisconsin (39). No cases of monkeypox that
could be attributed exclusively to person to person contact have been confirmed
(3).
CDC has issued updated interim guidance on the use of smallpox vaccine,
cidofovir, and vaccinia immunoglobulin for prevention and treatment in the
setting of an outbreak of monkeypox, and an updated case definition for
human cases of monkeypox (4,5). CDC has also issued interim guidance calling
for the euthanasia of animals that were imported from Ghana on 9 April,
or that have been exposed to other animals infected with monkeypox (6).
Up to date information on the outbreak is available at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/monkeypox/index.htm.