Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Monkeypox 'Way Worse' Than Having Covid Twice, US Patient Says
A man who has monkeypox is sharing what it's like to recover from the virus. CBS2's Lisa Rozner spoke to Matt Ford, who is still in isolation. "I've had COVID twice. This was way worse," he said. Ford says he's finally feeling better two weeks after noticing pimple-like marks the ended up being monkeypox lesions. (Rozner, 6/30)
A second case of the viral illness monkeypox was confirmed in Pittsburgh on Thursday, two days following the region’s first documented case. The second patient was diagnosed with the virus after consulting the Central Outreach Wellness Center, an LGBTQ-oriented medical clinic on the North Side. (Bunch, 7/1)
Health officials have confirmed the 5th confirmed case of monkeypox in Utah. According to a statement from SLCo Health Department, the infection was acquired during international travel. This individual had a handful of contacts before diagnosis and those exposed are aware and are monitoring themselves for symptoms. Experts said four of the confirmed cases were from Salt Lake County, and the fifth was confirmed in Utah County. (6/29)
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) has reported eight additional monkeypox cases, bringing the state’s total to 21.The eight new cases were all reported in adult males over the past week, according to the DPH, and they’re all currently isolating. (Doiron, 6/30)
Michigan health officials, who on Wednesday announced the state's first presumed case of monkeypox, told the Free Press Thursday that Michigan doesn't have any doses of Jynneos, the smallpox and monkeypox vaccine used to prevent disease or limit severity of symptoms. (Jordan Shamus, 6/30)
And in news from overseas —
New data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organization European regional office shows the monkeypox outbreak in Europe has grown to 4,177 cases in less than 2 months, with the United Kingdom producing 25% of those cases. Germany has surpassed Spain and Portugal with a national total reaching 838 cases, compared to 736 cases in Spain and 365 in Portugal. France has 350 cases. (Soucheray, 6/30)
London's top public health doctor has urged people with monkeypox symptoms not to attend Pride events in the capital this weekend. Professor Kevin Fenton says people with symptoms such as blisters, fevers and swollen glands should stay at home over the weekend and report their symptoms, BBC News reported. (Cumiskey, 6/30)
Monkeypox, which has put the global health community on high alert since emerging recently in dozens of countries world-wide, is also confounding researchers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that has contended with the virus for decades. Researchers in the DRC say that the virus, which has been reported in the Central African nation since 1970, is being found in provinces where it had never before been seen. So far, they don’t know why. (Roland, 6/30)
