JANESVILLE
There are no confirmed cases of monkeypox—yet—in Rock County, according to Rock County Health Department.
But the countyÃÛèÖÊÓƵ public health supervisor, Kelsey Cordova, and state health officials said Tuesday that itÃÛèÖÊÓƵ close by. According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, 32 cases are now confirmed in Wisconsin.
At a Wisconsin Department of Health Services online media briefing Tuesday, Ryan Westergaard, chief medical officer for the departmentÃÛèÖÊÓƵ Bureau of Communicable Diseases, shared updated information regarding monkeypox cases in Wisconsin.
According to the department, most cases have been in the central and southeast parts of the state. Milwaukee County has had 12 cases; Dane County, 6; Outagamie County, 5; Brown County, 3; Winnebago County, 2; Kenosha County, 1; Langlade County, 1; Walworth County, 1 and Waukesha County, 1.
Westergaard said in addition to those 32 cases of monkeypox in the state there have been over 9,000 confirmed cases in the U.S.
Vaccine
There is a limited supply of monkeypox vaccine and individuals with the highest risk of infection are being prioritized for those shots, Westergaard said, including members of the LGBTQ+ community. Those affected most are men who have sex with men, transgendered people and non-binary individuals, he said
Westergaard said priority for the vaccines in Wisconsin is first going to individuals who have been in contact with someone with monkeypox; second, to those who know that a sexual partner in the past 14 days was diagnosed with monkeypox; and third: to gay men, bisexual men, transgender men and women, and men who have sex with men and gender non-conforming or non-binary individuals who have had multiple sexual partners in the past 14 days.
“The way that I describe it is that it happens to be infecting this population first,†Westergaard said. “Some of the earliest cases were associated with clusters of men who attended parties where there was sex occurring on site. I believe the initial wave of infection sort of happened to be in that community and has spread through those networks.â€
The state is requesting “the maximum number†of vaccines from the federal government,†Westergaard shared during the call. “Currently 5,986 vials have been allocated to Wisconsin to be delivered in several phases. As of today, 3,286 vials in the state so far,†he said.
Westergaard said nearly 600 vaccine doses had been administered statewide by Monday and the number is increasing.
Westergaard said individuals who may have been exposed should contact their health professional if they’re feeling sick or noticing new or unexplained rashes.
The disease does not spread easily between people, Westergaard said. It is known to spread through activities like kissing, sex or other activities involving skin to skin contact with a person with monkeypox, the Winnebago County, Illinois health department recently said in a release.
Those interested in getting the vaccine should call their local health department to see if they qualify.
