LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Monkeypox, now known as Mpox, has made headlines over the past couple of years, and while we may not hear about it as often, it is still around.
With rising cases in Southern Nevada, local health officials are urging residents to stay vigilant and get vaccinated.
I also spoke to a local man who got the virus and is telling us about its painful symptoms.
“Very, very uncomfortable, very painful for about three weeks shy of a month," said Chad Woodruff.
For Las Vegas resident Chad Woodruff, the Mpox virus wasn't just another news headline.
“I did have the lesions," he said.
It was personal.
How painful was it for you to have those lesions?
“On a scale of 1 to 10, it was a good 8,” Woodruff said.
Woodruff tells me his experience with the virus was anything but mild. It started with fever-like symptoms.
Those symptoms grew, and he says what started off as a pimple turned into lesions similar to what you see below.
“But it was very, like, just very itchy. And I discovered like as I scratched it, then more, would pop up. And I think toward the end of it, there were probably a good five or six and then probably about like this big," Woodruff said.
You may remember Mpox first appeared in Southern Nevada during a 2022 outbreak.
The virus spreads primarily through close or intimate skin-to-skin contact, as well as sharing water like in a hot tub or pool.
So far this year, the Southern Nevada Health District is reporting seven cases.
“We have always seen sporadic cases of clade II monkeypox in Southern Nevada," said Dr. Rosanna Sugay with SNHD.
Dr. Sugay said clade II is the only strain here right now, but there is a threat of the more dangerous strain, clade I, which is not yet in the United States.
She says an updated vaccine is available.
Does that protect people here in Southern Nevada against monkeypox clade I?
“Yes, as far as we know it’s still protective for both," Dr. Sugay said.
She urges anyone who hasn't been vaccinated to get their shot as soon as possible.
“All we can do is protect ourselves and do our best to keep others from getting it too,” Woodruff said.
For more information from SNHD on vaccination clinics, visit their website by clicking the link here.
