5 Cases Of Monkeypox Reported In Colorado: What To Know

COLORADO — Five cases of monkeypox have been detected in Colorado, state public health officials said Wednesday. There have been no deaths or hospitalizations in our state, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

As of Wednesday morning, there were 113 cases of monkeypox in the United States, and more than 2,500 cases in countries where the viral disease didn't originate, the agency said.

The monkeypox virus is endemic in Central and West Africa, where host animals include a range of rodents and monkeys, and can be spread from animals to humans through a bite or scratch, according to the World Health Organization.

Colorado's first case of monkeypox was reported in the Denver area May 26. A man was infected after he traveled to Canada, where there has been an outbreak of the virus, public health officials said.

Brief interactions without physical contact are unlikely to result in transmission, officials said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the current cases "include people who self-identify as men who have sex with men," but the risk of transmission through sex isn't limited to gay and bisexual men.

Each of the five Colorado cases were among men who traveled internationally recently and had sex with men, said Dr. Rachel Herhily, state epidemiologist with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Monkeypox symptoms are similar to smallpox, including fever, a rash and swollen lymph nodes, and may lead to a range of medical complications, according to the World Health Organization.

Federal officials are releasing part of a stockpile of smallpox vaccine, which studies have shown is effective against monkeypox. There's no need for the general population to be vaccinated, the CDC said.

Colorado is ordering a limited supply of the vaccine, public health officials said. A "handful" of tests are being administered for the disease each week in our state, and around two dozen people have received the vaccine in Colorado, Herhily said.