Early signs of virus spread in the Chicago area – NBC Chicago

As cases of monkeypox continue to spread in the Chicago area and the outbreak has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization, be aware of any symptoms if you think you may have been exposed. Do you need to

Experts warned that most people with monkeypox experience flu-like symptoms before they develop a rash, but they develop the rash first, followed by other symptoms or other symptoms. It may be asymptomatic.

Flu-like symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and back pain, sore throat, cough, swollen lymph nodes, cold, and fatigue.

“Suspicious cases show early flu-like symptoms and can progress to lesions. Lesions can start in one part of the body and spread to other parts,” CDPH said earlier. I did.

Dr. Irfan Hafiz, an infectious disease specialist at McHenry and Huntley Hospitals in Northwestern Medicine, said the virus causes symptoms similar to several diseases, including chickenpox and smallpox.

“It can look like chickenpox or warts to an amateur,” he said earlier. “But these (pain) tend to be in exposed areas.”

Health experts also said the disease could be confused with sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis and shingles, or the varicella-zoster virus.

Symptoms usually begin within 3 weeks of exposure to the virus, and most infections last 2 to 4 weeks, health officials say.

“People with new or unexplained rashes, or Monkeypox-like rash Even if you don’t think you’ve come into contact with someone with monkeypox, you should talk to your health care provider, “DuPage County health officials said in a statement. you. ”

Illinois has reported more than 340 cases in the state so far, and DuPage County health officials reported four more cases on Monday.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 16,000 monkeypox cases have been reported in 74 countries since May. To date, monkeypox deaths have only been reported in Africa, where more dangerous versions of the virus are prevalent, primarily in Nigeria and Congo.

Still, the expanding outbreak is an “abnormal” situation that is considered a global emergency, the World Health Organization director said Saturday, stimulating further investment to treat once-rare illnesses and is rare. Declaration that could exacerbate the vaccination battle.

Global emergencies are WHO’s highest level of vigilance, but this designation does not necessarily mean that the disease is particularly contagious or fatal. Similar declarations were made on the 2016 Zika virus in Latin America, the COVID-19 pandemic in West Africa and the 2014 Ebola outbreak, as well as ongoing efforts to eradicate polio.

WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Gebreyes said: “I know this is not an easy and simple process, it’s controversial.”

So how does the virus spread and how does someone infect it?

of Africa, Monkeypox is predominantly spread by infected wildlife, such as rodents, to people in limited outbreaks, usually not across national borders. However, in Europe, North America and elsewhere, monkeypox has no animal ties and is widespread among people who have not recently traveled to Africa.

Dr. Rosamund Lewis, WHO’s best monkeypox expert, said this week that 99% of all monkeypox cases outside Africa are male and 98% are related to men who have sex with men.Experts suspect that monkeypox outbreaks have spread in Europe and North America Via sex In two rave, Belgium and Spain.

Human-to-human transmission is possible through “monkeypox pain, close physical contact with fluids and items contaminated with pain (clothing, bedding, etc.), or respiratory droplets after prolonged face-to-face contact” is. To the Chicago Public Health Department.

“I would like to emphasize that monkeypox is not a COVID,” said Dr. Alison Arwadi, Director of Public Health, Chicago. “We have all been paying attention to COVID in the last few years. I hear a little more detail, but this requires close and generally intimate contact based on everything we know now. . ”

“Most of the time this is seen, it comes from much more intimate skin-to-skin contact and kisses,” she added.

According to Dr. Sharon Welbel, Head of Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control at Cook County Health, the virus usually does not spread simply by “hit someone.”

“What looks normal is that there is a lesion that ruptures or opens into something that is invisible except for wounds and cracks in the skin,” she said. By bumping into someone, being in the same room as someone, or sharing a seat with someone. “

She said it “generally requires long-term contact.”

Experts warn that there is no current evidence to suggest that the virus is levitating.

Dr. Am Hazra, an infectious disease specialist at Howard Brown Health, said that the majority of cases were men who had sex with men, but “the virus doesn’t care how you identify it.” Stated.

Health officials said Friday that two children had been diagnosed with monkeypox in the United States. In addition to the two pediatric cases, health officials said they knew at least eight women out of the more than 2,800 US cases reported so far.

Vaccine supply is very limited, as only 5,400 doses can be given in Chicago. More than 15,000 doses are expected soon from the federal government, along with an additional 2,600 doses from Illinois.

“We are doing everything we can to prioritize vaccination of the most endangered people, but the truth is, given that the country’s supply is very limited, it qualifies. There will be tens of thousands of individuals who are inaccessible, “said David Ernest Munner, CEO and President of Howard Brown Health.

Two doses for men who are currently in close physical contact with the confirmed case, or who have had sex with another man and have had sex in a social or sexual location. Eligible for vaccines. It also applies to those who have received money in exchange for sex or who have had sex with an anonymous partner.

The CDC recommends the Jynneos vaccine for men who have reported four or more male sexual partners within the last 14 days.

As of last week, the United States Distribute 156,000 doses The state was vaccinated with the Jynneos vaccine, increasing testing capacity to 70,000 tests per week. In many cities and states, exposure to the virus is known or presumed, including men and men having sex with transgender, gender incompatibility, or non-binary residents with multiple sexual partners. We provide vaccines to people.