The Wyoming Department of Health on Monday announced it has confirmed its first monkeypox case, meaning the disease has been reported in all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
The first U.S. case was reported in Massachusetts in mid-May. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 15,909 cases have been confirmed as of Wednesday. The most cases have been reported in New York, followed by California and Florida.
To date, more than 41,000 cases of monkeypox have appeared worldwide in 94 countries.
The Wyoming case was identified in Laramie County, says Alexia Harrist, an epidemiologist with the state’s health department.
Harrist says public health representatives are following up with the man to see if additional Wyoming residents are at higher risk of contracting monkeypox due to direct contact.
According to the CDC, data suggest that gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men make up the majority of cases in the current outbreak. However, anyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, who has been in close, personal contact with someone who has monkeypox is at risk.
The White House has declared monkeypox a public health emergency.
Globally, the supply of monkeypox vaccines is extremely limited. There is only one supplier — Denmark’s Bavarian Nordic —and most doses have already been bought by the U.S., Canada, Europe and other rich countries.
Bavarian Nordic estimated its production capacity for this year was about 30 million doses. No monkeypox vaccines have so far been allotted to Africa, which has reported more than 70 suspected deaths, the highest number anywhere.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.