Two new reports from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have illuminated trends in the ongoing mpox outbreak, according to a press release from the University of Minnesota.
In the first report—published by Zelaya et al in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)—investigators found that among 29,980 cases of mpox reported in the United States from May 10, 2022, to December 31, 2022, 71.0% of them occurred in urban areas and 1.5% of them occurred in rural areas. The investigators also discovered regional differences in case distribution across several ethnicities that were dependent upon the case location. For instance, compared with White patients, Hispanic patients accounted for 26.5% to 33.8% of cases in large urban areas and 14.3% to 15.1% of cases in small urban or rural areas vs 28.2% and 42.8% to 43.3%, respectively. Additionally, because a majority of the mpox cases occurred in urban areas—and 85% of the U.S. population resides in these areas—the investigators emphasized the significance of continued mpox monitoring in large urban centers.
In the second report, published by Pollock et al in MMWR, investigators estimated that individuals who received one or two doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine or have previously been infected with mpox may have a respective 37%, 67%, and 100% reduced risk of developing mpox during a future outbreak. The investigators revealed that men who have sex with men may be most at risk of developing mpox and that 592,000 individuals in this population currently reside in localities that have low levels of immunity and are at high risk of mpox recurrence—particularly Jacksonville, Memphis, and Cincinnati. Cities such as Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC, were designated as urban centers with high levels of immunity at low risk of mpox recurrence. The investigators in both reports stressed that public health officials should encourage vaccination before Pride-related activities and events kick off in June.