Texas Reports First Monkeypox Death in US

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Texas has reported the first death in the state - and in the United States - of an individual diagnosed with monkeypox, the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) announced in a release on Tuesday.

"The Texas Department of State Health Services has confirmed the first death of a person diagnosed with monkeypox in Texas," the release said. "The patient was an adult resident of Harris County who was severely immunocompromised. The case is under investigation to determine what role monkeypox played in the death."

The DSHS advised residents who experience fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes and an unexplained rash to contact their health care provider.

"People who are diagnosed with monkeypox should stay home and avoid close contact with others until the rash has fully resolved, the scabs have fallen off and a fresh layer of intact skin has formed," the release said. "For most people, infection with monkeypox is painful but not life threatening."

The DSHS noted monkeypox is a preventable disease that spreads via close contact with an infected person and therefore can be prevented by avoiding close skin-to-skin contact with someone with an unexplained rash as well as skin-to-skin contact in large crowds where people are wearing minimal clothing.

On Monday, the Biden administration announced it will provide $11 million to boost manufacturing of the JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine later this year. Vaccine production is expected to begin later this year ahead of the nine-month timeframe that is typical for this type of work, the release said. In July, the Biden administration placed an order of five million doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine from the US government-owned bulk vaccine stored in Denmark.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on Friday that the health authorities have identified about 17,000 monkeypox cases across the United States, up about 25% from a week ago.