As monkeypox cases grow rapidly worldwide, the United States has become one of the countries with the most confirmed cases. The rarely fatal but definitely infectious virus, closely related to the one that causes smallpox, has been identified in all but five states – Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, Maine, and Vermont – as of July 26. (It’s still a long way from becoming one of the most common ailments in America.)
To determine the states with the most monkeypox cases, 24/7 Tempo reviewed the CDC’s 2022 U.S. Map and Case Count of monkeypox/orthopoxvirus cases (orthopox is the genus of DNA viruses that causes the disease). States with 10 or more cases are ordered by the number of cases as of July 26, then by population. Population data is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and represents five-year averages for 2020.
While New York has emerged as leader in the number of confirmed cases – 900 as of July 26 – nine other states have higher rates of transmission based on the increase in the number of cases from June 28 to July 26. The U.S. has reported 3,846 total confirmed or suspected monkeypox cases as of July 25.
For example, health officials in Georgia, the eighth-largest state by population, found the number of cases has increased from 7 to 289, a 4,000% rise compared to 1,329% for New York over the same period of time.
Among the 29 U.S. states that have reported 10 or more moneybox cases as of July 26 – plus the District of Columbia – four now have more than 300 cases, or a combined 1,915 cases, up from 201 on June 28, an 853% increase in less than a month. These four states are also among the largest by population.
Washington D.C. (population 701,974) currently ranks seventh in the number of monkeypox cases, at 191 – more than the combined 131 cases found in neighboring Maryland and Virginia.
As the virus spreads, the good news is that most people recover from the infection in two to four weeks with no hospitalization. (Here’s how COVID fatality rates compare with those of other diseases.)
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