LA County investigating deaths of residents diagnosed with MPX

Los Angeles County health officials are investigating the deaths of those diagnosed with MPX to see if viral illness was the leading cause of death.

An autopsy still needs to be performed, and “it takes time for those results to come back, so it could be as early as days or weeks,” said the county public health chief medical officer. said Rita Singhal, Ph.D.

“There have been no confirmed deaths from monkeypox,” she said at a briefing on Thursday.

Singhal did not answer questions about whether the individual had an underlying medical condition.

California health officials recently began using the name MPX (pronounced mpox) instead of monkeypox. The World Health Organization The process of officially renaming the diseasewhich takes months.

LA County officials plan to work with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health officials to determine whether there is a need to change guidelines on how to treat MPX patients, especially critically ill patients.

Deaths and serious illness are still rare in global pandemics. This is his second death in the US where authorities are investigating whether her MPX was the cause.

Texas health officials said last week they were investigating the death of a severely immunocompromised adult.It was not immediately clear what role MPX played in the person’s death.

There are more than 56,000 cases worldwide, including more than 21,000 in the United States, and seven confirmed deaths among MPX-infected people in countries where the virus was not circulating prior to this year’s outbreak. .

Over 4,100 suspected and confirmed MPX cases reported in California. LA County, the country’s most populous county, has reported a cumulative total of 1,805 cases. San Francisco has her second highest number, with over 750. However, the per capita infection rate is 87 per 100,000 compared to her 18 in Los Angeles County.

San Diego, Riverside, Alameda, Orange, Santa Clara, and Sacramento counties have also reported at least 125 MPX cases.

Of the approximately 3,100 MPX cases for which data are available in California, 140 patients were hospitalized at some point – a rate of approximately 4.5%.

The incidence of newly reported MPX cases continues to decline. In his seven days that ended Thursday, LA County reported 187 new MPX cases, down 30% from the previous week’s tally of 269.

LA County’s apparent weekly peak was from Aug. 19 to Aug. 25, when 313 MPX cases were reported.

San Francisco is also seeing a decline in the number of newly reported MPX cases.

Last week, Singhal shared vaccination efforts and national survey data suggesting gay and bisexual men had reduced the number of sexual partners and the number of one-off sexual encounters in light of the outbreak. We believe that is part of the slowdown.

MPX is also not contagious, usually requiring close skin-to-skin contact for infection and is not as airborne as the coronavirus. We’ll find out in a little while,” said Singhal.

MPX disease is characterized by virus-filled rashes and lesions that look like pimples, bumps, or blisters. The virus can spread easily during intimate encounters because it can appear first in the genital area and rectum before spreading to other parts of the body, and the rash can be mistaken for other skin problems. People who have multiple sexual partners are at higher risk.

“We could still see cases for a long time to come. But at least with the current high numbers we’re seeing, I hope it goes down,” Singhal said.

The median age of MPX cases in LA County remains 35 years. Of the cases reported in the county, 98% were male. In cases where sexual orientation is known, 95% identify him as LGBTQ+.

About 45% of MPX cases in LA County are in West Hollywood, Hollywood, Downtown Los Angeles, Eagle Rock, Highland Park, Echo Park, Silver Lake, Los Feliz and Boyle Heights. About 12% of the county’s residents live in this area.

The MPX vaccine shortage is also easing. Two weeks ago, LA County began allowing some people to climb on foot. MPX vaccination site get immunity without it Reservations are required.

LA County on Thursday expanded eligibility for the Jynneos vaccine to include those who may be at risk for future exposure. It was limited.

“At this time, only about one-third of individuals in LA County who are scheduled for a second dose of monkeypox vaccine receive it. It is strongly recommended that you receive a second vaccination.