NJ Monkeypox Case Count Rises To 4: Report

NEW JERSEY - Four likely cases of monkeypox have been reported in the Garden State as of Tuesday night, according to a NorthJersey.com report.

“As of Tuesday night, New Jersey now has four probable monkeypox cases," NJ Department of Health Nancy Kearney told the publication. It wasn’t immediately clear where in the state the cases were identified.

The first case of monkeypox was announced by the state Department of Health on June 18. The infected person is a Jersey City resident who has been instructed to quarantine until they are no longer contagious — that is, after the infected person's skin has healed.

As of Tuesday night, the total number of monkeypox cases in the U.S. stood at 306. To combat the spread of the disease, a “enhanced nationwide vaccination strategy” will be executed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, with 56,000 doses of vaccine to be shipped immediately to locations with the highest number of cases. 240,000 more doses are also coming in the next few weeks, officials said.

“The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices currently recommends vaccination for those at high risk following a confirmed monkeypox exposure,” the HHS said in a statement on Tuesday. “Given the large number of contacts and difficulty in identifying all contacts during the current outbreak, vaccine will now be provided to individuals with confirmed and presumed monkeypox exposures. This includes those who had close physical contact with someone diagnosed with monkeypox, those who know their sexual partner was diagnosed with monkeypox, and men who have sex with men who have recently had multiple sex partners in a venue where there was known to be monkeypox or in an area where monkeypox is spreading.”

Per the CDC, California and New York currently have the highest number of patients diagnosed with monkeypox, reporting 66 and 63 respectively. Illinois has 45 cases, followed by Florida with 26, the District of Columbia with 20, and Massachusetts with 13. The first US case in 2022 was reported May 18 in Massachusetts.

The disease has historically been limited to central and west Africa, where people are exposed through bites or scratches from rodents and small mammals, preparing wild game or coming into contact with an infected animal. But the World Health Organization has described the outbreak, now in more than 30 countries beyond Africa, as "unusual," the Associated Press reported.

Monkeypox symptoms are similar but milder than the symptoms of smallpox, with symptoms like fever, headache, muscle aches, and exhaustion 7 to 14 days after infection.

“As a precaution, any New Jersey residents who experience flu-like illness with swelling of lymph nodes and rash occurring on the face and body should contact their healthcare provider,” the New Jersey health department has advised.