The Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention says it now counts nine monkeypox cases in seven states, all of them are within the gay and bisexual community of men having sex with men.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said cases have been identified in Massachusetts, Florida, Utah, Washington, California, Virginia and New York.
“This is a community that has the strength and has demonstrated the ability to address challenges to their health by focusing on compassion and science,” Walensky said, referring to the AIDS epidemic, which also started in the gay community. She warned it could spread beyond that community: “While some groups may have a greater chance of exposure right now, infectious diseases do not care about state or international borders. They’re not contained within social networks and the risk of exposure is not limited to any one particular group.” And she urged people to approach it through science, “not stigma.”
