N.J. monkeypox cases nearly double to 89 in a week – NJ.com

Monkeypox cases have nearly doubled in New Jersey in the last week from 45 to 89, according to the latest state Department of Health report.

The majority of those cases were in the northern part of the state, a spokeswoman said, but a county-by-county breakdown was not available.

“Beyond the numbers of cases, no additional details will be released due to patient confidentiality,” said Nancy Kearney, a Department of Health spokeswoman.

New Jersey has the 11th highest number of cases nationwide as of July 25, according to Center for Disease Control and Prevention data. New York has the most monkeypox cases with 990, while California has the second highest with 356 cases. The CDC data, which can lag slightly behind numbers reported at the state level, has New Jersey with 81 cases.

Nationwide, there have been 3,487 cases reported to the CDC. The World Health Organization recently declared monkeypox a global emergency.

Alaska, Maine, Montana, Vermont and Wyoming are the only states that have not yet recorded a case, according to the CDC.

Although cases have doubled in New Jersey in the past week, it’s still a relatively small number overall, said Stephanie Silvera, an epidemiologist and professor at Montclair State University.

“We need to have a reasonable level of concern,” Silvera said when asked about how worried the average resident should be.

Most of the population has no immunity to monkeypox and no prior exposure, she said. But a vaccine exists and the disease is not a complete unknown to the medical community, unlike COVID-19 was when it emerged, she said.

Some populations should be more concerned than others. Monkeypox is primarily spread through close physical contact, so people who regularly find themselves in high-touch situations will have a higher chance of contracting the virus.

“You go to a nightclub, you’re standing right next to somebody — you’re in a crowded space where there’s physical contact, that can be enough (for spread),” she said.

Vaccines are currently available to anyone who believes they are “at high risk of having been exposed to the virus in the past 14 days,” the state Department of Health said in a press release last week. Post-exposure prophylaxis, taken in two pills, is available for anyone with known exposure to the virus.

Because monkeypox is spread through close physical, contact, sex is an easy way for the virus to spread, but Silvera stressed that monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted infection.

Monkeypox is not unique to men who have sex with men, Silvera said. Cases are higher in that population currently because that’s where the disease first took hold, but it could have begun in any group of people, she said.

Places like daycare centers, where viruses “run rampant through young children because they’re in close physical contact, and they don’t keep their hands for themselves,” are also prime spreading grounds, Silvera said.

Unlike COVID-19, monkeypox is not an aerosolized virus, meaning it can’t linger in the air or spread from one side of the room to the other, Silvera said. It is carried on large respiratory droplets, meaning it could spread if you’re standing closely to someone.

Also unlike COVID-19, it can spread through fomites, which are particles of the virus that can live on surfaces, Silvera said.

“If you have somebody who is exhibiting symptoms, particularly lesions and open sores, you don’t want to share items with them,” Silvera said. “So you are going to want to be a little bit more careful.”

Monkeypox prevention tactics will sound very familiar to residents by now: wash your hands, avoid very crowded spaces, and don’t come into close contact with those who are sick.

Knowing the warning signs of monkeypox can also help prevent the spread. A pimple or blister-like rash is one of the hallmark symptoms, but fever, headaches, aches and exhaustion are also symptoms of the disease, the CDC says.

Anyone experiencing those symptoms should call their primary healthcare provider to ask about testing, the CDC says.

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Katie Kausch may be reached at kkausch@njadvancemedia.com.