11 CT Residents Diagnosed With Mpox In 2024: Health Department

CONNECTICUT — Eleven Connecticut residents have been diagnosed with mpox so far this year, the state Department of Public Health announced Monday.

All the mpox patients are between the ages of 20 and 50, and reside in Fairfield, New Haven, New London and Hartford counties.

The majority of these patients have not been hospitalized. In 2023, only four Connecticut residents were diagnosed with mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) and there were 145 cases in 2022, according to DPH. There has also never been a death in Connecticut associated with mpox.

"Fortunately, we are in a far different place than we were in 2022 thanks to the availability of the mpox vaccine and greater awareness," said DPH Commissioner Manisha Juthani, MD. "Mpox spreads through close prolonged contact with an infected person. This might include coming into contact with skin lesions, or bodily fluids, sharing clothes or other materials that have been used by an infected person, or inhaling respiratory droplets during prolonged face-to-face contact."

Residents who are concerned about fever, swollen glands, and a new rash, should contact their health care provider, Juthani said in a news release.

Although anyone can get and spread mpox, the current cases are primarily among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men and their sexual partners. For those who have multiple or anonymous sex partners, their likelihood of mpox exposure is higher, according to DPH.

State officials highly recommend vaccination for people who are at risk for mpox. Two doses of the vaccine are suggested to provide maximum protection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that only one in three Connecticut residents at risk have received both doses of the vaccine.

Mpox causes a rash that can look like pimples or blisters and may be very painful or itchy. The rash can be on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body. People who are immunocompromised, including people living with HIV who are not on treatment, are at increased risk of severe mpox, or even death, if they become infected.

DPH provides more information on the disease and its symptoms online here.