Nearly a month after the first confirmed case of monkeypox, New Mexico officials provided an update to residents during an Aug. 4 news conference.
Dr. Laura Parajón, deputy secretary and acting state epidemiologist of the New Mexico Department of Health, said state officials are working with their partners to ensure the health and well-being of residents, and noted there have been 10 confirmed cases of the disease in New Mexico, according to a KRQE News report.
“There have been zero deaths in the United States, but it is a public health emergency because it is spreading in the United States and around the world,” Parajón told KRQE. “There’s a total number of 6,617 cases in the U.S. now. We only have 10 cases in New Mexico.”
The update was provided a month after the state’s first presumed case of monkeypox was diagnosed, with officials speeding vaccination efforts to head off potential spread of the disease, KRQE reported.
Of the cases in New Mexico, KRQE reported that all the individuals were infected elsewhere, but it is possible for the disease to spread in the state.