Health officials announce first female monkeypox case in Georgia – CBS 46 News

July 26, 2022 Kim Martel

ATLANTA, Ga. (CBS46) – Georgia health officials have announced the first female monkeypox case in the state. She is the first female case among more than 250 in Georgia. Georgia has the fifth-most cases in the country after reporting its first case in early June.

The woman reported contact with a man who was diagnosed with the disease. She is not the first woman in the United States to be diagnosed with monkeypox.

Health officials said globally there are about a dozen cases of monkeypox reported in women and it is expected that cases will be identified in the close, personal contacts of monkeypox patients regardless of age or gender.

However, the overwhelming majority of cases (96%) are among gay or bisexual men who have sex with men.

Most cases are men who have sex with men, but anyone can be affected. The disease spreads through physical contact and is not a sexually transmitted disease.

Federal health officials reported two cases in children Friday. One was a toddler in California and the other was an infant who is not a U.S. resident, but contracted the disease in Washington, D.C. Both are reported to be in good health.

Monkeypox is rarely fatal, but can cause fever, headaches and a rash that presents as pimples or blisters among other symptoms. The type causing this outbreak has a 99 percent survival rate.

The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency and the Biden administration could soon follow. The White House also plans to name a response coordinator to help curb the spread.

The monkeypox vaccine comes in two doses and Georgia has already received 6,000 individual doses. Several thousand more are expected. Those most at risk for the disease, men who have sex with men, have priority for the vaccine. Many appointments for the vaccine fill up immediately as demand outstrips supply.