SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – All nine Bay Area counties have now detected monkeypox cases within their jurisdictions, just days after global health officials declared the virus' spread a worldwide emergency.
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The Napa County Department of Public Health on Tuesday announced the county’s first positive test, saying the person tested positive while receiving medical care. Napa County officials are awaiting U.S. Centers for Disease Control confirmation.
Napa County announced its first case a week after Solano County's, and just three days after the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency. Officials in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo Santa Clara and Sonoma counties have announced cases in their jurisdictions, and Stanford University researchers have detected monkeypox in wastewater throughout the Bay Area.
Dr. Karen Relucio, Napa County Public Health Officer and Deputy Director, said in a statement on Tuesday that the county resident "likely became infected after exposure at a location where there is a monkeypox outbreak."
"This disease is not spread as easily as COVID-19," Relucio said, noting later that cases are largely concentrated among – but not entirely limited to – gay, bisexual and queer men. "However, we do want people that have been exposed to look for symptoms and to seek medical attention immediately if they develop symptoms. We also encourage medical providers to take extra caution during this time with patients that are being ruled out for monkeypox."
Officials said that anyone, regardless of their gender or sexual identity, can become infected with monkeypox, which often starts as flu-like symptoms before patients develop sores or a rash on the skin. It can spread through sexual contact, kissing, breathing at close range and sharing bedding or clothing.
Napa County’s discovery occurs as vaccine access remains low. County public health officials on Tuesday said Napa has only a "small quantity" of vaccines, and they’re prioritizing access to close contacts to cases or people who were exposed in places that had outbreaks.
Elsewhere in the Bay Area, the San Francisco Department of Public Health closed its city-run vaccine clinic on Tuesdays after officials on Monday said there weren’t enough doses to keep it open.
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