Health officials confirm 2nd case of monkeypox in Santa Clara County
A digitally colorized electron microscopic image showing a monkeypox virus particle obtained from a clinical sample associated with an outbreak in 2003. (CDC File Image)
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Health officials have confirmed a second case of monkeypox in Santa Clara County on Thursday.
Santa Clara County's public health department and the state health department are working together on the monkeypox outbreak. They said the probable case of the disease announced June 30 has been confirmed.
They are not announcing further information about the individual who tested positive due to medical privacy.
This comes as health officials announced this week that the number of monkeypox cases in California has more than doubled over the past week.
In addition, health advocates are calling for a more coordinated response to the outbreak and for expanded access to the two-dose JYNNEOS vaccine. Shipments of the vaccine have already been sent to cities including those in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The most recent outbreaks of the virus have disproportionately affected men who have sex with men, though monkeypox does not have the distinction of being classified as a sexually transmitted disease.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says monkeypox can be spread through direct contact with the infectious rash, scabs, or body fluids, prolonged face-to-face contact; intimate physical contact such as kissing, cuddling or sex. The disease can also be spread through clothing and linens previously touched by the infectious rash or body fluids. Pregnant people can also pass the virus on to their fetus.
Health officials have said monkeypox is seldom deadly.
Santa Clara County will announce its monkeypox case updates on their website weekly, on Wednesdays by 11:00 a.m.: https://publichealth.sccgov.org/disease-information/monkeypox