All four corners of the continental United States have now seen Monkeypox cases after Wyoming became the 50th and final US state to confirm a case of the disease during the ongoing outbreak.
Issuing a statement on Monday, Wyoming health officials said an adult male in Laramie County had become the first monkeypox case in the state and that health authorities were working to ensure others were not at risk.
As ABC News reported, the confirmation made Wyoming the 50th US state to encounter Monkeypox this year after cases were recorded in Europe this spring before the US.
“We do want to prevent further spread within our state as much as possible,” said Dr Alexia Harrist, a state health officer and epidemiologist with the Wyoming health department.
He continued: “That’s why we will recommend vaccination for people who have been exposed to monkeypox and also for people who may be more likely to get monkeypox based on the current outbreak and how it has been spreading”.
Monkeypox is spread by close contact with an infected person and has so far spread to 80 countries globally where it is not normally endemic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
That includes the United States, where 14,115 cases have so far been confirmed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since Massachguessts reported the country’s first case from the ongoing outbreak in May 2022.
Some states, such as New York and California, have seen more than 2,500 Monkeypox cases each in the three months since, while states such as South Dakota have seen only a handful.
The outbreak has mostly been limited to gay and bisexual men who have sex with men, although Monkeypox can be picked up by anyone who comes into close contact with someone with Monkeypox, the CDC says.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration announced plans to release 1.8 million doses of a vaccine called Jynneos to local and state health authorities under new plans to protect gay and bisexual men, and others, from the disease.
The US government’s has however been criticised for being slow to respond to the outbreak, while many gay and bisexual men have reported of long waits for tests and vaccine appointments in areas such as New York City.
While no deaths have been recorded as a result of the outbreak in the US, other countries have done so. This includes Spain (2), Ecuador, India and Brazil (1 each), the WHO says
The Independent has approached the CDC for comment.
