King County/Seattle Public Health Need Feedback On Monkeypox Response

Public Health/King County and Seattle is looking for some feedback on their response to the ongoing monkeypox epidemic that has mainly been seen in the “men who have sex with men” community.

Gay and bisexual and transgender people who have sex with men are invited to take the anonymous survey which should only take about 5 minutes or so. Go to https://lnk.bio/kcpubhealth.

The monkeypox virus took hold internationally last spring in Europe before it spread to the United States and around the world. While not usually fatal, the virus is unpleasant and can leave permanent scarring from the lesions caused by the virus. Monkeypox is not sexually transmitted but can easily be spread via intimate contact…in other words, from skin to skin contact with the lesions.

After a slow response time in the U.S. and a lack of vaccines made available, the country has caught up in recent weeks with outreach and vaccine availability. Public Health of King County and Seattle have staged numerous community vaccination clinics with the result that cases have dropped dramatically in the last few weeks.

A total of 441 cases have been identified in King County with 13 hospitalizations. The epidemic seems to have peaked locally the week of July 31st with 64 cases reported. Compare that to last week’s reported 9 new cases.

For more infomation on monkeypox, go to https://kingcounty.gov/depts/health/monkeypox/data.aspx