Monkeypox News… And It’s Not Very Good!

Brace yourselves, folks. We’ve got some monkeypox news and it’s not very good.

Top News Today :
After seemingly ignoring monkeypox for many months while medical experts assumed it was a “gay” disease, the Biden administration has finally awakened to the obvious and declared it a public health emergency. Why now, you ask? It’s because the US currently has the largest outbreak in the world.

On Thursday, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra delivered the emergency declaration, saying the US has confirmed more than 6,600 cases of monkeypox in 48 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico.

“In light of all of these developments and the evolving circumstances on the ground, I want to make an announcement today that I will be declaring a public health emergency,” Becerra told reporters.

However, there’s more monkeypox news.

If you thought monkeypox was a “gay” male disease and that you were safe from contracting it, think again!

In Georgia, 20-year-old Camille Seaton, a heterosexual Black woman, contracted monkeypox and believes she got it by constantly handling money at the local gas station where she works.

“I was touching a lot of money. The mask laws were lifted so we weren’t wearing any masks. I wasn’t wearing any gloves,” Seaton explained. “I just wasn’t being careful and I touched my face and my body and I’m transferring a whole bunch of germs subconsciously.”

In New York, 2 uniformed Department of Corrections employees who work at the Riker’s Island prison facility tested positive for monkeypox last week. The employees likely contracted the virus from their close proximity to prisoners and have now become 2 of the more than 1,700 cases in New York City alone.

In the US, an anonymous woman who cleans AirBnB’s for a living said she contracted monkeypox by handling bed linens while cleaning.

According to Dr. Linda Yancey, infectious disease specialist at the Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, it is “absolutely a possibility” for monkeypox to be transmitted by handling money or linens as the virus can survive for days in those environments.

“So, monkeypox is a sibling of smallpox … This could absolutely be transmitted in that fashion,” Dr. Yancey said. “Any high touch items like money, doorknobs, shopping carts, have the potential for transmission.”

Yes, although rare, experts say it is indeed possible to contract monkeypox on a crowded bus or airplane, by trying on clothes in a thrift shop, or even from touching a surface such as a bathroom counter.

“Monkeypox, like other poxviruses, can live on fabrics, surfaces, or objects for up to 15 days, especially in cool or low humidity environments.  People with monkeypox typically have pox lesions on their body—if those lesions come into contact with a surface or fabric, the virus can cling there and contaminate it. The same is true for bodily fluids or respiratory secretions of a person infected with monkeypox.”

– CDC

Oh, and if this monkeypox news wasn’t already enough, there’s yet another health hazard on the horizon.

Just when we were all getting tired of COVID and being forced to think about monkeypox, the US has seen the return of an old friend: Polio.

After health officials announced earlier this month the first confirmed case of Polio in more than a decade (in New York State), the CDC is now confirming that it has discovered an alarming amount of the Polio virus in our wastewater. In fact, the New York State Health Commissioner believes there could be “hundreds” of people infected with Polio and not even know it.

“Based on earlier polio outbreaks, New Yorkers should know that for every one case of paralytic polio observed, there may be hundreds of other people infected,” Dr. Mary Bassett said. “Coupled with the latest wastewater findings, the Department is treating the single case of polio as just the tip of the iceberg of much greater potential spread. As we learn more, what we do know is clear: the danger of polio is present in New York today. We must meet this moment by ensuring that adults, including pregnant people, and young children by 2 months of age are up to date with their immunization – the safe protection against this debilitating virus that every New Yorker needs.”

Polio is known to cause muscle paralysis. It is transmitted through contaminated water and food or by contact with an infected person. Many people who are infected with the poliovirus don’t become sick and have no symptoms. However, those who do get sick develop paralysis, which can sometimes be fatal.

Polio was eradicated in the US more than 40 years ago. However, it has returned — and with a vengeance.

With COVID, monkeypox, and now Polio running rampant through our streets, will we ever leave the house again?

OK WASSUP! discusses the Top News Today:
More monkeypox news, COVID, and Polio.