Q&A
New strain of MPOX in NYC and available guidance
0:48:16
ยท
3 min
Dr. Michelle Morse addresses concerns about a new strain of MPOX (monkeypox) in New York City, clarifying the situation and providing information on available resources and guidance for the public.
- A case of Clade 1 MPOX was detected in New York State (not NYC) in a person with recent travel history to Central Africa
- DOHMH has been leading NYC's response to MPOX since 2022
- Guidance on MPOX prevention and vaccination is available on the NYC health department website
- DOHMH tracks MPOX cases through a reporting system and conducts investigations and contact tracing
- Two doses of the MPOX vaccine are recommended for optimal protection, but individual situations may vary
Lynn Schulman
0:48:16
Okay.
0:48:17
Now I'm going to ask about mPOXX.
0:48:20
Press reports last week detailed a new strain of mPOXX present in New York City with the CDC reporting that an individual with this new strain was in isolation with federal websites providing mPOXX guidance currently down due to the president's executive orders.
0:48:34
What guidance or resources does DOHMH currently have available for New Yorkers seeking medically accurate info on mPOXX?
Dr. Michelle Morse
0:48:42
Thank you for that question.
0:48:44
Was, MPOXX has been in the news more recently because there is an ongoing outbreak of MPOXX in Central Africa of a different clade, Clade one.
0:48:54
And there was recently, as you mentioned, a case of Clade one MPOXX in New York State.
0:49:00
It was not in New York City.
0:49:02
And that person had a very recent history of travel to the region in Africa where there is an ongoing outbreak of clade one mPOXX.
0:49:13
So I just want to reassure the public that that is really not a general public risk.
0:49:19
The reason that person unfortunately acquired that clade of mPOXX was because of the recent travel.
0:49:25
However, the New York City Health Department has been leading New York City's response to mPOXX since 2022.
0:49:33
Every year and you know routinely we monitor all of the cases of mPOXX in the city.
0:49:40
We also issue guidance to New Yorkers on how to protect themselves from getting infected with mPOXX.
0:49:47
All of that guidance is available on our website and so I would encourage the public to check out our website which has extensive information about mPOXX at nyc.gov/health.
0:50:01
On that website you will also find information about the risk factors for infection with m pox and the public will also find information on where they can get vaccinated at low or no cost for the MPOXX vaccine as well.
0:50:16
All of that information is still available, but again, we are not expecting further spread of that clade one type of MPOXX because it was directly related to recent travel.
0:50:29
I would like to invite my colleague Doctor.
0:50:31
Suit Reddy to share a little bit more about how we track MPOXX cases.
Sudha Reddy
0:50:38
Sorry.
0:50:39
Hi, thank you Doctor.
0:50:41
Morris.
0:50:41
Yes, we track mPOXX cases.
0:50:44
So we receive reports, positive cases of mPOXX are reported to the health department and when they get reported we have teams of investigation staff who contact all reported cases and interview patients and ask them about their possible risk factors and also perform any contact tracing and offer vaccine to contacts as well.
Lynn Schulman
0:51:11
So I have a question.
0:51:13
There are individuals who when we had the MPOXX care got, because you have to get two shots, right, two vaccines.
0:51:20
They only did it once.
0:51:22
Should they do it the second time just for purposes of being prepared?
0:51:28
And so if you can go into that a little bit we'll do this little public service.
Dr. Michelle Morse
0:51:33
Absolutely.
0:51:34
The most effective dose is to have two doses of the vaccine.
0:51:39
Each person is in a little bit of a different situation, so it depends a little bit on their risk factors, the state of their immune system, etc.
0:51:47
So my guidance would be talk to your provider.
0:51:51
It depends a little bit on how recently you got the first dose.
0:51:54
You may have to start over.
0:51:55
It really does depend on each individual situation, but our strong guidance is to get two doses to be the most protected as possible from the impacts virus.