NC Gears Up to Battle Monkeypox

By Cash Michaels –

Meanwhile, 41 North Carolina counties have high Covid cases.

With reports of over 10,000 cases across the nation, North Carolina health officials are gearing up to deal with a serious outbreak of the monkeypox virus. At least one of North Carolina’s US senators is not pleased with the federal response to combating the disease.

Meanwhile, at last reporting, at least 41 NC counties—more than twice the number counties the previous week—now have enough cases of Covid-19 to be classified in the Orange Zone, the state’s highest coronavirus designation for an increasing indication for infections and hospital cases.

According to the NCDHHS, the first case of monkeypox in North Carolina was identified June 23, 2022 in Haywood County. As of July 15, thirteen cases of monkeypox had been reported in the state, with one of the latest cases in Rowan County, according to the Charlotte Observer. Other cases have been reported in Mecklenburg, Durham, Haywood, and Wake counties.

As reported previously, monkeypox is a rare, potentially dangerous viral infection that can produce flu-like symptoms, swollen lymph nodes and a bumpy rash.

“Early symptoms can include fever, exhaustion and headache, and sometimes a sore throat and cough. A rash that can look like pimples or blisters appears shortly after,” says the NC Dept. of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) press release. “This happens over two to three weeks.

“The virus is spread from person to person through skin-to-skin contact, infected saliva, respiratory droplets or fluid from the lesions. These body fluids may also contaminate linens or other items that they touch. The period from exposure to first symptoms is usually seven to 14 days but can range from five to 21 days. People can spread monkeypox from the start of symptoms, before the rash forms, until the lesions crust over and heal.”

The NCDHHS directive continued, “Anyone can get monkeypox. Many of the cases in this outbreak so far have been in men who have sex with men and transgender individuals. Sex can have a lot of close skin-to-skin contact, making it a riskier activity for spreading the virus. People who have more than one sexual partner in an area or venue where monkeypox is spreading are at higher risk of getting infected. For an update on the spread of the virus, visit www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox. Some cases have been tied to venues and events like sex parties and saunas where intimate, often anonymous sexual contact with multiple partners may occur.”

“Testing is available through a health care provider or local health department. The State Laboratory of Public Health tests these samples. Some commercial labs and academic medical centers can also test for monkeypox including LabCorp and the Mayo Clinic. There is no shortage of testing supplies, and people with symptoms of monkeypox should go to their health care provider or a local health department to get tested.”

Thus far, there are federal government-approved vaccines for treatment that are being distributed to states to combat the virus, though there is criticism as to how effectively.

Problems have been reported. A Durham man told WRAL-TV how he was given the medical runaround for two weeks when he first suspected coming down with monkeypox on June 28. He said a rash appeared in his mouth. “I could not eat because opening my mouth to put a fork full of food in my mouth was impossible. It was so painful.”

During that time he had a 103-degree fever, night sweats, and other serious symptoms. When doctors finally examined him properly, the man indeed had monkeypox and was treated.

Last week, Republican Senator Richard Burr blasted the US Dept. of Health and Human Services in a letter, charging that its response thus far to the monkeypox outbreak across the country was “falling short.”

“The administration has the tools and authorities necessary to combat these threats. Your failures to act are a threat to public health, and especially for gay and bisexual men who are at highest risk,” wrote Burr. “The government failed this population at the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, we should not fail them again.”

Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who served under former President Trump, told CBS News that the federal government has reacted too slowly to the spread of monkeypox, allowing it to spread more than it should.

“I think at this point, we’ve failed to contain this,” Gottlieb told CBS’s Face the Nation. “We’re now at the cusp of this becoming an endemic virus where this now becomes something that’s persistent that we need to continue to deal with.”

On the Covid-19 front in North Carolina, driven primarily by the new B.A.5 coronavirus variant, there are now 41 NC counties, most in Eastern North Carolina, designated by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as being in the Orange Zone. A week earlier, there were only 18 Orange Zone counties in the state, and a week before that, only four.

An Orange Zone county has more than 200 new Covid-19 cases per week for every 100,000 people who live there, and more than ten hospital admissions that week. In those counties, the CDC recommends people wear masks indoors, and on public transportation, regardless of vaccination status.

A Yellow Zone county is classified as having a medium level of cases, while a Green Zone is considered low level. Yellow Zone counties include Buncombe, Catawba, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Cabarrus, and Cumberland. Green Zone counties include Guilford and Iredell.

Go to epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/cd/diseases/monkeypox.html for more information on the monkeypox virus. Go to www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/public-health/monkeypox for up-to-date information about monkeypox in our area.