There have been five
monkeypox cases reported in Florida since the beginning of the year — and all of them were in Broward County,
according to the Florida Department of Health’s data Tuesday afternoon.
The infectious viral disease that typically begins with flu-like symptoms and lymph node swelling progresses to a rash and in severe cases to hemorrhagic disease or other conditions requiring hospitalization.
The World Health Organization’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
announced Tuesday an emergency meeting will be held on June 23 after more than 1,600 cases and nearly 1,500 suspected cases were reported in 39 countries.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating several cases in the U.S. The federal agency recently issued a
travel health Level 2 notice adding the risk to the general public was low.
A group of scientists wants to change the name used to identify the disease. The 28 scientists from 11 countries
co-signed a petition suggesting that “hMPXV A.1″ or “MPXV” would be more accurate names to describe it.
“In the context of the current global outbreak, continued reference to, and nomenclature of this virus being African is not only inaccurate but is also discriminatory and stigmatizing,” the co-authors wrote.
The
outbreak includes hundreds of cases reported in the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal and Germany. There are dozens of cases in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela.
Dr. David Heymann, a leading WHO adviser, first
reported the unprecedented outbreak in May was “a random event” that appeared to have started at raves in Spain and Belgium.
The CDC warns the disease spreads through direct contact with body fluids or sores, or with direct contact with materials that have touched body fluids or sores. It may also spread through respiratory secretions when close, face-to-face contact.
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