First U.S. death from monkeypox confirmed in Los Angeles County

The person, according to the county health agency, "was highly immunocompromised and had been hospitalized," on Monday.

The Los Angeles County Public Health Department said that the nation has experienced its first monkeypox-related death.

The department stated on Monday that the person "was extremely immunocompromised and had been hospitalized," adding that those in a similar situation who think they may have monkeypox should seek medical attention.

The passing occurs after the virus has claimed the lives of people in six other nations, including Brazil, India, and Spain, where there have been recent outbreaks. Six further fatalities have been reported worldwide in non-endemic nations.

Doctors have underlined how severe the illness may be and urged ongoing action to immediately contain the virus and prevent it from spreading through the populace permanently, even though deaths have not been widespread in non-endemic nations.

"This infection is not benign. At a Tuesday meeting with public and sexual health specialists about the need for increased federal financing for the outbreak, David Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors, stated that this fatality "is very troubling to all of us." "We need to keep going. We must keep an eye on this.

Deaths have been more frequent in several African nations where the virus has been persistent for decades, but most of them have been brought on by a variety that is not widely spread. According to health professionals, the availability of pharmaceuticals and medical treatment likely has an impact on the death rate.

However, health experts warn that the virus strain spreading in the U.S. also carries the possibility of life-threatening consequences.

According to Cesar Arias, a board member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, "it is clear that there are complications with this virus that are life-threatening, with inflammation of the brain, for example, encephalitis, inflammation of the lung, called pneumonitis, and also a very high risk for pregnant women, particularly for preterm pregnancies and fetal death." It is commonly recognized that this infection could have fatal effects. It is a complicated illness.

It is unknown how much, if at all, the monkeypox infection contributed to the death of another patient in Texas last month.

On August 29, authorities in Harris County, Texas, the location of the earlier death, made the initial announcement. Health officials stated that the person who passed away was "severely immunocompromised," although it was unclear what role the presumed monkeypox infection had.

In a statement announcing the demise, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said, "We are disclosing this information to err on the side of transparency and to avoid potential misrepresentation regarding this case."

Officials stated that the autopsy results for the Texas fatality should be ready a few weeks after the announcement.

As federal, state, and local governments seek to vaccinate and treat individuals infected or at high risk, the U.S. has so far documented over 22,000 cases across all 50 states.

Similar epidemics have been documented in other nations, with over 58,000 cases total. The reason that infections have spread so widely outside of nations where the virus is common is currently being investigated by researchers.

In an effort to increase vaccine supply around the nation, the Biden administration declared the U.S. outbreak a public health emergency in August.

During the initial months of the outbreak, there was a shortage of the shots, which forced health officials to provide doses that were just half the usual size. Additionally, the government worked with the manufacturer, Bavarian Nordic, to develop U.S. production lines for bottle doses and speed up supplies.

Millions of dosages were requested from the corporation by the authorities for delivery through the beginning of 2023. However, the quantity that existed prior to the additional shipments was insufficient to satiate demand.

ACAM2000 is an older vaccination that has not been extensively utilized because it carries a larger risk of adverse effects than Bavarian Nordic's, but it is kept in considerable quantities in the Strategic National Stockpile.