A severe form of Monkeypox that is causing an epidemic in Africa has reached U.S. soil for the first time.
California Department of Public Health revealed that a Golden State resident who had recently returned from eastern Africa had tested positive for the disease.
The patient was diagnosed in San Mateo County and is currently isolating at home and is expected to make a full recovery.
Officials at the California Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are attempting to contact residents who may have come into contact with the infected patient to conduct further testing.
Monkeypox is a viral disease related to smallpox, though far less fatal, and is transmitted primarily through close personal contact. There are two main types of the disease: Clade I and Clade II.
The type the Californian contracted while in Africa is Clade Ib, a subtype of Clade I. This strain has spread like wildfire across several African countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda.
According to The New York Times, more than 57,000 confirmed or suspected cases and nearly 1,200 deaths since January have been reported in Africa. Many of the deceased victims are children.
The Gateway Pundit previously reported the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the monkeypox epidemic a global emergency in August.
As The Times notes, Clade Ib was previously spreading primarily through the consumption of contaminated meat or close contact with infected animals and people. But last year, the virus started spreading via sexual intercourse, specifically heterosexual prostitution.
This is a departure from the 2022 world outbreak, which primarily affected LGBTQ individuals.
The CDC says it has not obtained evidence that Clade Ib is spreading across America. The agency also released a statement attempting to assure the public that the risk of infection from monkeypox is minimal.
“The anticipated overall risk of Clade I mpox to the general population in the United States from the outbreak in Central and Eastern Africa is low,” the statement reads.
However, infections from Clade IB have been found in several other countries around the world outside Africa. These include Germany, Sweden, Thailand, and the United Kingdom, among other countries.
The people contracted the virus in Africa just like the American traveler.
Moreover, a case of a person returning from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was reported in India. It is unclear whether this individual visited Africa beforehand.
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