The Southern Nevada Health District on Thursday announced seven new cases of mpox in Clark County, detected in October. The last reported case was at the end of August.
The first case of the virus, known formerly as monkeypox, was reported in the area in June 2022. As of Nov. 1, 303 cases have been reported in total.
The health district encouraged those who are eligible to get the mpox vaccination. That includes:
- Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, transgender or nonbinary people who in the past 6 months have had one of the following:
- A new diagnosis of one or more sexually transmitted diseases.
- More than one sex partner.
- Sex at a commercial sex venue.
- Sex in association with a large public event in a geographic area where mpox transmission is occurring.
- Sexual partners of people with the risks described above.
- People who anticipate experiencing any of the above.
- People who had close physical contact with someone known or suspected of having mpox in the last 14 days (could include a sexual partner or someone in the household).
- People who have been informed by the Health District that they are a close contact of someone with mpox.
So far, 11,300 mpox vaccines have been given. The two-dose vaccine is administered 28 days apart.
"In Clark County, the mpox outbreak has mostly impacted the LGBTQ+ community; however, anyone can get mpox. Infections with the virus can cause a rash that may be painful or itchy. Other symptoms can include fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, exhaustion, muscle aches, headache and respiratory symptoms. A person with mpox may experience all of these or only a few symptoms," officials wrote in a news release.
