TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Pima County’s level of monkeypox is low with just six cases so far, but the county health department is urging precautions and offering vaccinations to high risk groups to limit the spread.
Monkeypox spreads through skin to skin contact, often very intimate contact. Pima’s Health Director is urging people to recognize the symptoms—and the situations that can lead to a monkeypox infection.
Doctor Theresa Cullen says just as with COVID, contact tracing has been critical to identifying the series of intimate contacts that help monkeypox spread. The county is also working to share protective information with high risk groups.
“Those individuals who have had multiple sexual partners with men, or those who identify themselves as male at birth, so multiple is more than one sexual partner and its sexual partner as well as intimate relationships with people so it doesn't necessarily mean sex itself, but it could be just skin to skin contact in an intimate situation.”
Doctor Cullen says people should watch out for any new skin lesions and stay home if they have any early infection symptoms like fever, fatigue, back ache, or swollen glands.
Pima County has a Monkeypox information page at this link.
She is concerned health care workers could be at risk from contact with people they treat but does not think monkeypox presents much of a threat to schoolchildren.
“While you will see on multiple websites that there is the ability for monkeypox to spread from a respiratory perspective. The belief is unlike COVID, you remember 15 minutes, six feet apart. For monkeypox to spread from a respiratory perspective, you have to have a very prolonged exposure with someone and we believe that prolonged exposure is six to eight to 10 hours.”
Doctor Cullen says the county is encouraging people in high risk groups to get monkeypox vaccine. Almost 400 people got vaccinations in a health department clinic Saturday and more vaccine doses are on the way.
RELATED: Pima County health seminar: Everything you need to know about monkeypox
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
