Across the United States a handful of college campuses, as well as high schools and middle schools, are dealing with monkeypox cases identified in students and staff.
A case was identified at a Greenwood, South Carolina, middle school yesterday, but health officials assured parents there were no close contacts or exposures and no reason for concern.
The University of Pittsburgh is the latest college to report a monkeypox case in a student. The student is recovering in isolation, and close contacts have been identified and notified of the case. Jay Darr, associate dean of students for wellness at Pitt, said the university will not issue public communications for each new case, but students will be contacted by a contact tracer if they had a possible exposure.
Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 572 more monkeypox cases in the United States, raising the total to 18,989. California has the highest case count, with 3,629, followed by New York (3,310), and Florida (1,922).
Belgium reports monkeypox death
Belgium has reported its first monkeypox death in an individual who had underlying medical conditions. This is likely the 16th death reported worldwide.
In other European news, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) issued an epidemiologic update yesterday. It reports three deaths and three infections involving occupational exposure in healthcare workers. In all three cases, the workers were wearing the recommended personal protective equipment.
In total, 22,050 cases were reported in Europe, of which 98.7% were in men. Out of the 9,053 male cases with known sexual orientation, 97% self-identified as men who have sex with men, and among cases with known HIV status, 37% were HIV positive.
Spain has the highest case count in Europe, with 6,543, followed by Germany (3,455), and France (3,421).
In total, the World Health Organization has confirmed more than 50,000 cases worldwide.
