By Diane Rado, Florida Phoenix
Florida is closing in on 400 monkeypox cases as of Friday, with the largest number of cases in South Florida and other urban settings.
Data from the Florida Department of Health show monkeypox cases in 17 counties — roughly a quarter of the 67 counties in Florida.
But those counties represent the largest population areas in the state, from Miami-Dade, at about 2.9 million, and Broward County, with about 1.9 million people.
Three other counties — Hillsborough, Palm Beach, and Orange counties — each have about 1.5 million people, according to 2022 population statistics from the state health department.
Those counties usually have the largest numbers of monkeypox cases, with one exception: Monroe County, home of the Keys, with about 78,000 people.
Elsewhere, it would be unusual to see any monkeypox cases in the swath of North Florida, the data show.
Here’s the most recent list of 374 monkeypox cases in Florida, according to the state health department:
County Monkeypox cases: Broward 184, Miami-Dade 96, Orange 22, Palm Beach 18, Pinellas 16, Monroe 11, Hillsborough 8, Duval 4, Polk 3, Collier 2, Lake 2, Lee 2, Seminole 2, Flagler 1, Osceola 1, Santa Rosa 1 and Sarasota 1.
Meanwhile, nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 4,907 monkeypox cases, with the largest number of cases in New York, California, Illinois, Florida, and Georgia. (Keep in mind that Florida’s health department figure has a higher number of cases compared to the CDC’s Florida figure.)
Overall, monkeypox cases are in 46 states and the District of Columbia. Only Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, and Vermont do not have monkeypox cases.
Here’s the list of cases as of Friday, according to the CDC:
State Cases New York 1247 California 799 Illinois 396 Florida 346 Georgia 330 Texas 315 District of Columbia 214 Pennsylvania 124 Massachusetts 117 Maryland 111 New Jersey 110 Washington 108 Virginia 76 Oregon 58 Colorado 53 Arizona 50 North Carolina 46 Indiana 45 Louisiana 31 Minnesota 30 Connecticut 28 Michigan 28 Utah 27 Tennessee 24 Ohio 20 Rhode Island 19 Alabama 17 Nevada 14 South Carolina 14 Wisconsin 13 Hawaii 10 Iowa 10 Puerto Rico 10 Nebraska 9 Oklahoma 9 Missouri 8 New Hampshire 7 New Mexico 7 Kentucky 6 Arkansas 4 Delaware 3 Idaho 3 West Virginia 3 Non-US Resident 3 Kansas 1 Maine 1 Mississippi 1 North Dakota 1 South Dakota 1
Overall, the United States has the highest number of monkeypox cases of 78 countries in the world, according to CDC global data.
The Phoenix and the nonprofit States Newsroom network recently reported that:
“No Americans have died so far from the virus that can include chills, exhaustion, fever, headache, muscle aches, and swollen lymph nodes. Monkeypox often also comes with a rash that can look like pimples or blisters, according to the CDC. The World Health Organization has reported at least five deaths globally — three in Nigeria and two in the Central African Republic, WHO data show.
“The virus is spread through direct physical contact with someone who has the rash or lesions on their body as well as through respiratory droplets during prolonged, close contact, or contact with items like bedding or towels that someone with the rash has used.
“The current outbreak of monkeypox in the United States, Europe, and other countries that don’t traditionally experience the virus, is predominantly occurring in gay or bisexual people, or men who have sex with men, according to public health officials. However, others can become infected with monkeypox if they have been in close contact with someone who has the virus.”
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.