Everything CDC wants you to know about monkeypox and the current risk level
Enlarge / A negative stain electron micrograph of a monkeypox virus virion in human vesicular fluid. (credit: Getty | BSIP)
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today provided an update on the monkeypox situation in the US, which is connected to a growing multinational outbreak. It also used the time to address open questions and calm some unfounded fears.
To date, there are five confirmed and probable cases in the US. The one confirmed case of monkeypox in the US was identified last week in a Massachusetts man who had recently traveled to Canada. The four probable cases include one in New York City, one in Florida, and two in Utah.
Those four cases are probable because they all tested positive for an orthopoxvirus, the family of viruses that includes monkeypox and smallpox. They are considered presumptive monkeypox cases and are being treated as such while the CDC carries out secondary testing to confirm monkeypox.