West Chester student tests positive for monkeypox
As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 27 reported cases of monkeypox in Pennsylvania.
A student at West Chester University has tested positive for monkeypox, as the tally of cases in the Philadelphia area continues to grow.
The student — whose name was not released — was isolating as of Tuesday and doing well, according to a statement from the university.
The student had not had close contact with anyone in Chester County and there were no other reports of the disease at the university, school officials said.
» READ MORE: Monkeypox vaccines coming to Philly, but health officials say it’s not enough
As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 27 reported cases of monkeypox in Pennsylvania, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were 866 cases reported in the United States by Tuesday afternoon.
Philadelphia’s tally of monkeypox cases was 16, a sharp increase from mid-June when two cases had been reported. The city had received 20 doses of vaccine as of last week, according to a Philadelphia Department of Public Health spokesperson.
The city is expected to receive an additional 225 doses, half of the 450 vaccine doses expected in Pennsylvania. The state is receiving the JYNNEOS brand of vaccine, preferred because it has less severe side effects. New Jersey is also expecting an additional supply of vaccine.
Monkeypox spreads through direct contact with lesions or body fluids. It often spreads through face-to-face contact or during intimate physical contact, including sex, the CDC said. Pregnant people can also spread the virus to their fetus through the placenta.
The virus has so far largely been propagating among gay or bisexual men, an epidemiologist told The Inquirer. But it wasn’t unusual for diseases to spread among people within the same social network, the epidemiologist said.
The disease usually starts with flulike symptoms such as a fever, intense headache, chills, and swelling of the lymph nodes. The most visible signs of monkeypox are lesions on the face and body, which usually appear up to three days later. Symptoms can last two to four weeks.
The strain of monkeypox that has circulated through the United States causes mild to moderate sickness.