2nd case of monkeypox reported in Allegheny County
A second case of the monkeypox virus has been reported in Allegheny County, Tribune-Review news partner WPXI said Thursday.
A physician with the Central Outreach Wellness Center in Pittsburgh told WPXI they are treating a second case of monkeypox. Test results on the patient proved to be positive Thursday for the virus. Both Pittsburgh cases were treated at the wellness center’s North Side clinic. The two monkeypox cases, however, are not related.
Dr. Stacy Lane, an infectious disease specialist who treated both patients, said the patient’s initial symptoms were mild, but later tests were positive over two days at West Penn Hospital in the city’s Bloomfield neighborhood. The state confirmed he has monkeypox, Lane said.
Lane said that mostly men are contracting the virus, and it appears gay men are vulnerable.
The World Health Organization says while “some cases have been identified through sexual health clinics in communities of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. It is important to note that the risk of monkeypox is not limited to men who have sex with men. Anyone who has close contact with someone who is infectious is at risk.”
“I think people should be conscious of their own skin, and others’ skin, before they have skin-to-skin contact,” Lane told WPXI.
Spokespersons for the Allegheny County Health Department and the Central Outreach Wellness Center could not be reached for comment Thursday night.
An initial case of monkeypox was confirmed Wednesday.
The county health department noted the first person in the area to be confirmed as being infected with monkeypox does not live in Allegheny County.
Monkeypox is not a new virus, and virologists have indicated there is no need “to get crazy scared.”
The virus does not spread easily among people, and it is not as transmissible as covid-19, experts have said.
Transmission requires close physical contact or prolonged, intimate exposure to an infected person, or to their bedding or clothing.
Hours of dancing in very close quarters could pass the virus, and so could sexual contact, according to experts.
Joe Napsha is a TribLive reporter covering Irwin, North Huntingdon and the Norwin School District. He also writes about business issues. He grew up on Neville Island and has worked at the Trib since the early 1980s. He can be reached at jnapsha@triblive.com.
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