Wayne County reports first MPOX case since 2022

According to the Wayne County Health Department, a case of monkeypox has been reported in the county.

This is the 19th known case in Michigan this year and the first in the county since the global MPOX outbreak in 2022.

The risk to the population is low and the Ministry of Health is “waiting for the specific virus type to be identified,” the ministry said in a press release on Wednesday.

An outbreak in 2022 was caused by Clade 2, a strain of the virus that killed less than 1% of those infected. Clade 1 is more contagious and causes more severe disease and more deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is in the midst of its largest Mpox outbreak to date. The outbreak is linked to the Group 1 Mpox species, which is regularly found in Congo but has spread to some neighboring countries, according to the CDC. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak an international health emergency earlier this month.

No cases of Clade 1 Mpox have been reported in the U.S. The Wayne County Health Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the travel history of the person in the latest case.

According to the Wayne County Health Department, Mpox is a viral disease that spreads through close personal or intimate contact via scabs, bodily fluids and rashes from an infected person or respiratory secretions such as mucus and saliva during prolonged personal contact.

“Given the way Mpox is transmitted to other people, it's more likely to be through close or intimate contact through sexual activity,” said Michael Brown, a Michigan State University physician and chief of the division of emergency medicine. “I just want to compare it to COVID that we all know — that's more respiratory droplets and can be transmitted in public spaces with lots of people.”

Symptoms of Mpox include flu-like illness followed by a rash that looks like pimples or blisters, the health department said. The virus becomes contagious when symptoms appear and can spread until the scabs of the rash fall off. It usually takes between two and four weeks for an infected person to no longer be contagious, according to the department's press release. Symptoms usually begin one to two weeks after infection, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).

The case is the first reported in Wayne County since the global outbreak in 2022, the release said. The state recorded five confirmed and probable MPOX cases in 2023 and 394 in 2022, MDHHS spokeswoman Lynn Sutfin told The News.

“I would say the risk is low for the general population in the greater Detroit area, except for those who have direct contact, domestic or family contact with the person in question,” Brown said.

Although there are no treatments approved specifically for Mpox infection, there is an effective vaccine, according to the CDC. The vaccine is given in two doses, four weeks apart, and is available in Michigan for people who have been exposed to Mpox or believe they may be at risk.

According to the CDC, people with severely weakened immune systems, children under one year old, people with a history of eczema, and pregnant women are more susceptible to severe illness. Health officials in Wayne County advise anyone at risk to make sure they have received the current Mpox vaccine.

“The most important thing is to be aware that this virus is in the community,” Brown said. “Although the declared global emergency is focused on Group 1 in Central Africa, there are still cases in the United States among these high-risk populations. … These populations really need to be informed and educated and take these precautions when they are available.”

[email protected]