US Reports First Outbreak of Human Monkeypox Cases

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, June 09, 2003

US Reports First Outbreak of Human Monkeypox Cases

At least 19 people in three US Midwest states have contracted monkeypox, a disease related tosmallpox, marking the first outbreak of the life-threateningillness in the Western Hemisphere.

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At least 19 people in three US Midwest states have contracted monkeypox, a disease related to smallpox, marking the first outbreak of the life-threatening illness in the Western Hemisphere.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has already issued a nationwide alert to doctors and public health officials to be on the lookout for more cases of the monkeypox infection.

"Thus far, 19 cases have been reported: 17 in Wisconsin, one inNorthern Illinois, and one in Northern Indiana." the CDC said in a statement posted on its website late Saturday.

Human monkeypox, caused by a kind of orthopox virus, is a rare disease that occurs primarily in the rain forest countries of central and western Africa. In humans, infection with monkeypox virus results in a rash illness similar to but less infectious than smallpox.

There is no cure for monkeypox at the moment, but US federal health officials said human form of the disease is not usually fatal and is not as easily spread as smallpox.

With an incubation period of about 12 days, the monkeypox virus believed to be spread by rodents known as prairie dogs, which have become popular as pets. These animals may have acquired the infection from other creatures such as Gambian giant rats, which are sold in the United States as exotic animals.

According to the CDC, all the 19 suspected human monkeypoxcases in the country who have become ill reported "direct or close contact with ill prairie dogs."

All patients and infected animals have been isolated to prevent the spread of the disease. Four of the 19 patients have been hospitalized and none has died.

The CDC is urging physicians, veterinarians and the public to report symptoms associated with exposure to prairie dogs, Gambianrats and other animals to health authorities. It is also advising veterinarians examining or treating sick animals to use gloves, surgical mask and other protective equipment.

Although monkeypox virus has the potential to be used as a biological weapon, US government officials said there was no indication that bioterrorism was involved, The Washington Post newspaper said in a report Sunday.

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