The number of cases of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, has spiked in the Big Apple since October, the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene warned, with a high of 51 cases in January.
Since October, the city has averaged 36 cases per month, an increase from two to 20 cases per month for most of 2023, the agency said Friday in a health advisory.
Of the 256 reported cases from October through April 15, most were mild, with only 10 people requiring hospitalization.
The bulk of those who fell ill were Black or Hispanic, ages 25 to 44, and men who have sex with men.
In addition, 73% of those infected were unvaccinated against mpox or had only received one dose of the vaccine.
Mpox is spread via close skin-to-skin contact as well as through bodily fluid exchange with people carrying the virus, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It generally appears as a rash on hands, feet, chest, face, or mouth or near the genitals. The virus can also spread from animals to people.
Despite the increase in cases, the number is down from the global outbreak in 2022 that led the US to declare a health emergency.
More than 31,000 Americans were diagnosed with mpox during that outbreak, and 55 people died.
While there are no cases of the more deadly Clade I subtype of the virus in the US, a recent outbreak of it in the Democratic Republic of the Congo poses a risk of introduction in the US via travel, the city’s advisory warned.
Worldwide, laboratory-confirmed cases of mpox total 95,226, including 185 deaths, between Jan. 1, 2022 through March 31, a World Health Organization report published April 30 said.
