FRIDAY, April 28, 2023 (HealthDay News) — For the first time since the mpox outbreak began last spring, no new cases have been reported in more than a week, fresh government data show. At the peak of the outbreak, there were 500 new infections reported daily, but by late last year that number was 16, according to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While the Biden administration ended the public health emergency for the virus that was previously called monkeypox late last year, it is not clear how much time is required with zero cases to declare the outbreak over, CBS News reported.
And a resurgence is still possible, public health officials have warned. “If mpox reintroduction occurs and no additional vaccination or sexual behavior adaptations occur, the risk of a resurgent mpox outbreak is greater than 35 percent in most jurisdictions in the United States,” modelers for the CDC reported in April.
Other countries continue to report new cases, while a site in central Virginia that tests wastewater continues to detect the virus in samples. This could be because of unresolved but previously reported infections, CBS News reported.
The reason for the slowed case numbers may be because people have died or developed immunity from infections. Other reasons may include changes in behavior and availability of the Jynneos vaccine.
Since the outbreak began last May, more than 30,000 people have been infected with the virus, which causes painful lesions, and 42 people have died, according to CDC data.
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