Two Chicagoans have died after testing positive for the monkeypox virus, the city's first such fatalities stemming from the worldwide outbreak, the Chicago Department of Public Health announced Friday.
Both individuals who died had been hospitalized after being diagnosed with monkeypox more than six weeks ago and had multiple other health conditions, according to a news release from CDPH. Citing confidentiality and privacy, the department said additional information about the cases won't be publicly released.
CDPH maintains deaths from monkeypox remain extremely rare, with the city's top doctor explaining the vast majority of people who died had other health conditions that caused severely weakened immune systems.
"If you’re at risk of MPV infection, take prevention steps and get vaccinated to protect yourself and your loved ones," Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of CDPH, said in the news release. "These measures are especially important if you have comorbidities and/or a weakened immune system.”
Out of more than 75,000 total cases worldwide, there have been 32 reported deaths, according to data from the World Health Organization. At least seven death have been reported in the U.S.
Across the country, more than 27,000 cases have occurred, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Friday, 1,358 had been reported in Illinois.
Person-to-person transmission is possible through "close physical contact with monkeypox sores, items that have been contaminated with fluids or sores (clothing, bedding, etc.), or through respiratory droplets following prolonged face-to-face contact," according to CDPH.
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Dr. Amu Hazra, an infectious disease physician with Howard Brown Health, previously said a majority of cases have been in men who have sex with men, but "the virus doesn't care how you identify."
“MPV is not a ‘gay disease’,” Arwady previously noted. “There’s nothing inherent in the biology of the virus that limits it to men who have sex with men. The virus spreads through tight-knit social networks; it does not discriminate.”
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Arwady said most cases "are coming from much more intimate skin-to-skin contact or kissing" and noted that most casual contact and day-to-day activities - including things like shopping in crowded stores, going to a bar or coffee house, riding crowded CTA trains and buses, or using gym equipment or public restrooms - pose little to no risk for contracting MPV.
“Still, you should assess the risk factors of any activities. For instance, avoid sharing drinks or cigarettes or vape pens, and if you have sex with a new partner, take some time to talk about MPV, look for symptoms on your bodies, and if you have rashes, sores, or are feeling sick, don’t engage in any skin-to skin physical contact,” the doctor previously said. “And most importantly, if you start to exhibit symptoms, see a health provider and get tested right away. If you test positive, we can vaccinate your recent close contacts to help stop further spread of the virus.”
Monkeypox often begins with flu-like symptoms and swelling of the lymph nodes, and progresses to a rash on the face and body.
Virus symptoms range from fever, aches and rashes all over the body.
"Suspected cases may present with early flu-like symptoms and progress to lesions that may begin on one site on the body and spread to other parts," CDPH previously stated.
Dr. Irfan Hafiz, an infectious disease specialist with Northwestern Medicine’s McHenry and Huntley hospitals, previously said the virus causes symptoms that are similar to several maladies, including chickenpox or smallpox.
“It can, to the layperson, look like chickenpox or warts,” he previously said. “But these (sores) tend to be in exposed areas.”
