Monkeypox makes it to Alaska

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The first case of monkeypox has been diagnosed in Alaska, discovered in an Anchorage resident, according to the Alaska Department of Health.

The individual had not traveled but was a close contact of an individual who had recently traveled outside of Alaska.

The Alaska Section of Epidemiology is continuing to work to identify people who may have been exposed to monkeypox in Alaska. Any close contacts will be notified and offered vaccine. People with close contact exposure to monkeypox are generally advised to reach out to their clinician or public health center for evaluation. Testing for monkeypox is available in Alaska, as is a limited supply of the JYNNEOS vaccine.

Vaccine is prioritized for people who have been identified as having close contact to someone with monkeypox within the last two weeks. Currently, vaccination to prevent monkeypox is not recommended for the general public.

Monkeypox does not spread easily between people, the Department of Health reminded the public. Transmission is possible either through skin-to- skin contact with body fluids or monkeypox sores, through direct contact with contaminated items such as bedding or clothing, and through exposure to respiratory droplets during prolonged face-to- face contact. While anyone can get or spread monkeypox, in the current outbreak in the United States, most cases have occurred among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men.

“While the risk of monkeypox infection remains low for the general population, it is important for people who might be at increased risk for exposure to be aware of how to prevent transmission and what signs and symptoms to look for,” said Dr. Joe McLaughlin, state epidemiologist and chief of the Section of Epidemiology.

Monkeypox symptoms typically start with flu-like symptoms including fever, headache, chills, muscle aches and exhaustion within 1 to 2 weeks of exposure. The rash appears soon after. Some may only develop the rash. People infected with monkeypox are typically sick for 2-4 weeks.

“The best thing folks can do if they’re experiencing monkeypox symptoms or come across a new, unexplained rash is to stay home and contact their health provider right away,” said Dr. Brian Piltz, medical officer at the Anchorage Health Department. “This will allow us to deliver prompt treatment and rapid identification of close contacts who may be eligible for vaccination.”

To prevent the spread of monkeypox, avoid close contact with people who have recently been diagnosed with monkeypox or with people who have monkeypox symptoms such as a characteristic rash. If you are in close contact with someone who has symptoms, for example if you live with someone who has monkeypox, wear a face mask, limit skin-to-skin contact and wash your hands with soap and water or use hand sanitizer.

23 COMMENTS

  1. The man had not traveled outside Alaska but a man he had close contact with someone who did. Enough said there, time for certain individuals with certain habits to be accountable for their actions. I don’t know why our tax dollars have to pay for their medication, don’t they have health insurance or Obamacare?

  2. This article makes it sound like anyone can get monkey pox. You’re only going to get it if you are a man having sex with another man. If you are a straight female, make awful damn sure your male partner isn’t bi or else you’ll get it too.

    • The primary vector into the heterosexual population for AIDS was needlejammers. I was single again during the heighth of the AIDS epidemic, and you just had to always be conscious that if you slept with a woman, you were sleeping with everyone she’d ever slept with. Made you really picky.

  3. Suzanne, you know everyone reading this wants to know if the person is homosexual or not. So why leave it out?

  4. Sigh. Sounds awful. If you are at risk please use caution and if available
    get vaccinated. Worth avoiding but obvious only prevalent in a small
    population.

  5. Come on now, they are pushing a dead dog issue here. Oops, I mean dead monkey. You’re the chimp, I mean chump if you listen to any more of this BS they keep pushing. Not smart enough to remember the Fauci created aids scare with the same fear and warnings? Guess who is behind this scam, like the covid scam and aids scam? Are you telling me that you can not see the evil, hear the evil or speak the evil about this monkey scam?

  6. Just like AIDS, this is a disease directly associated with an unhealthy lifestyle, in particular having gay sex with multiple partners. Our Assembly is at risk!

  7. Stay away from anybody that fits into that category of social standing. Remember with Covid it was ok to keep 6 feet apart. We need to do that when ever we are around or see someone who is or could be affected.

    • Uhhhh…. Like…..
      Stay away from Assembly meetings? Or, maybe the mayor should just abandon the Assembly based on a health emergency? Seems democratic to me.

  8. What a coincidence… right on time for midterm elections.
    .
    Seems reasonable to expect the same state and federal public health officials who helped turn China flu into a disaster which didn’t cure anything, but almost destroyed America are eager to try again with monkeypox.
    .
    No? What’s changed? Big Pharma and the public-health rackets aren’t still joined at the hip, ready for a redux?
    .
    By disrupting midterm elections, reimposing mask and vaccine mandates and mass house arrests, basically panicking people once more into submissive compliance, this crisis should also be a major force in distracting Americans from the damage mRNA shots are doing to their bodies.
    .
    One might be forgiven for suggesting to Alaska’s public health officials: Stop talking. For your role in making China flu so much worse of a problem than it had to be, we regard you with utter contempt.
    .
    Your medical licenses should be revoked, you should be brought up on charges, but we know it won’t happen; the racket of which you appear part is too pervasive. Just enjoy what you worked so hard to get, do us the courtesy of not talking like you give a damn about the well being of John Q. Public.

    • Maybe not here, but in the L48, lock-downs and mail-in ballots (with non-secure drop-boxes) right around the corner. How convenient for the leftist marxist dems…

  9. Some Alaska guy cheated. When two men break up it can get violent. When I was a teen, my homosexual neighbor was breaking up with his bisexual boyfriend, and the bi boyfriend broke everything in the house including the windows- (Too much testerone which is one reason of many why two men don’t belong together). The confrontation was so bad that every officer working that night was dispatched.
    It was all over because of a woman.

    You know how Alaska has a high std transmission rate, i’m pretty sure if we knew the patients, the std epidemic is started through homosexuals, homeless, and hookup-ers . Free love isn’t a bed of roses, it leads to an early grave.

    • I can’t answer that, Richard. Maybe someone else knows, however. So many genders, hard to keep up 😉 – sd

  10. I hear it’s also spread through direct contact with human feces of infected, so you might want to avoid San Francisco and Downtown Anchorage.

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