It is official that the United States now has the most reported cases of monkeypox on the planet with the total number of confirmed cases reaching 15,400 as of this week, which accounts for almost 36 percent of all reported cases across the globe.
Across the globe, there have been reported a total of 43,900 cases and a total of 12 deaths reported. The U.S. has not, as of writing, reported a single death so far.
As reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the top ten states sporting the most total cases are, in order from greatest to least, as follows: New York, California, Florida, Texas, Georgia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Washington state. The CDC also made sure to spotlight Washington, D.C. in its total case counts, which had just slightly more cases than the entire state of Washington by itself. Just last month, New York officially declared a public health emergency over monkeypox.
Spain holds the slot as #2 in the world regarding monkeypox cases. They have a total of just over 6,100 cases, which equates to about half of the United States’ total cases.
The seven locations abroad that have historically dealt with outbreaks of monkeypox currently make up just under one percent of all reported total cases. Together, they have just 400 total cases. The Democratic Republic of the Congo reported 163 cases, Nigeria has 157, Ghana has 47, the Central African Republic has 8, Cameroon has 7, the Republic of the Congo has 3, and Liberia has 2. When it comes to deaths to the disease, three of these locations — Ghana, Nigeria, and the Central African Republic — are responsible for 7 out of the 12 deaths.
This past Monday, an announcement from the CDC came down that the outbreak of monkeypox has caused roughly 50 percent of bisexual and gay men that were surveyed to make changes to their sexual behaviors. Various studies have indicated that the LGBTQ+ community harbors the largest majority of cases. The CDC also warned, via its website, that this monkeypox outbreak seems to mostly be affecting men to take part in intercourse with other men.
“Many — though not all — of the reported monkeypox cases have been among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men,” expressed the CDC. “Because of this, CDC has emphasized the need to identify and use specific channels to promote messages that directly reach gay and bisexual men (across racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and geographic backgrounds).”
In an online survey of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men conducted during August 5-15, 2022, respondents reported changing their behavior because of the #monkeypox outbreak.
For more data on the 2022 U.S. monkeypox outbreak, visit https://t.co/QpblepCma5 pic.twitter.com/kZld53MB96
— CDC (@CDCgov) August 22, 2022
Data trends from the CDC seem to highlight that monkeypox cases have expanded exponentially throughout the U.S. in the weeks following Pride Month, which is June. The very first case in the U.S. was originally reported back in mid-May.
