More than half of Riverside County monkeypox cases have come from Palm Springs, data shows – Desert Sun
More than half of Riverside County’s monkeypox cases have come from Palm Springs alone, data released by public health officials on Thursday showed.
Among the reported 109 monkeypox cases in the county as of Thursday, 59 were in Palm Springs, and 20 were from Cathedral City. That means 72% of all cases in the county are in the two cities.
Desert Hot Springs has five cases. Other cities in the Coachella Valley area, such as Indio, Palm Desert and Banning, have less than five cases each. The City of Riverside, which is the county’s most populous municipality with over 300,000 residents, has five cases.
Palm Springs’ case total exceeds that for all of Orange County, which as of Tuesday had confirmed 57 cases, according to data from the California Department of Public Health. Palm Springs has about 48,000 residents, compared to Orange County’s 3.1 million.
All reported cases in Riverside County except for one have been among males. In California, 98% of cases have been in males and transgender males, while 1.6% of cases have been among females and transgender females.
Nearly half of all reported cases in Riverside County have been among white people. Another 22% are among Hispanics or Latinos. Racial data was not available in 23% of cases.
Locally, 45% of cases locally have been among people who identify as gay, lesbian or same-gender loving. But other data shows sexual orientation was unknown in 49% of cases, 3% of patients identified as bisexual and 2% were straight.
Cases have been most common among people ages 35 to 44 (28%) in Riverside County. Another 23% of cases have been in the 45-to-54 age group, while 22% have been in the 55-to-64 age group.
There have been 1,036 confirmed monkeypox cases in Los Angeles County as of Thursday, and 610 confirmed and probable cases in San Francisco as of Wednesday, according to data from their respective public health departments. A majority of cases have been among males and people in their 30s and 40s, similar to trends seen in Riverside County.
Monkeypox is a disease caused by the monkeypox virus. People usually become infected through close contact with skin lesions or bodily fluids of infected animals or humans (alive or dead), including droplets, or clothing and linens from an infected person. The virus can also be spread through sexual contact, but it is not classified as a sexually transmitted infection.
Symptoms can occur five to 21 days after exposure, and include fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, rash and lesions often in the genital and perianal region. Illness typically lasts for two to four weeks.
Riverside County Public Health reported an additional two confirmed or probable monkeypox cases among men Thursday.
Both patients are between the ages of 35 and 45, with one from the Coachella Valley and the other from the western portion of the county, said county spokesperson Jose Arballo Jr.
Anyone who believes they have been exposed to monkeypox should contact their healthcare provider.
Ema Sasic covers entertainment and health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at ema.sasic@desertsun.com or on Twitter @ema_sasic.