The New York State Department of Health announced on Tuesday the first recorded case of the new monkeypox strain, heightening global concerns over the spread of the little-known variant.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), three confirmed cases have been reported across the country, in California, Georgia, and New Hampshire, all linked to the subvariant (A.B).
In August, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared monkeypox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that spread to neighboring countries.
The New York State Department of Health has not provided additional details about the confirmed case.
Measles Outbreak Expands in Texas and New Mexico
Meanwhile, public health authorities reported on Tuesday that a measles outbreak in West Texas has grown, with a new case confirmed across the state border in New Mexico.
The Texas Department of State Health Services has recorded 24 measles cases in the past two weeks. Gaines County, a small region in West Texas, is among the areas with the highest vaccine exemption rates in the state.
In neighboring Lea County, New Mexico, officials alerted residents about a teenager who contracted measles and had not been vaccinated. The potential exposure sites include an emergency room and a middle school gym in Lovington.
According to a statement from the New Mexico Department of Health, “The infected individual had no recent travel history and had not been in contact with known cases linked to the Texas outbreak.”
In Texas, nine measles patients have been hospitalized, and all confirmed cases in Gaines County involve unvaccinated individuals. The U.S. has seen a rise in measles cases in 2024, including an outbreak in Chicago affecting more than 60 people.
