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MPOX Updates

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Southwest Center’s Mpox Updates

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Updated June 2024 – The Southwest Center is no longer providing the mpox vaccine. However, you can still schedule an appointment with the Maricopa County Department of Public Health. Please click here or use the vaccine locator below. If a need arises due to a resurgence, we will reactivate this service.

This tool allows you to search for testing services, mpox vaccine, housing providers, health centers and other service providers near your current location. You can view the provider's contact information, which services they provide, and get directions to the provider's location.

Vaccination is an important tool in preventing the spread of mpox. Get vaccinated with both doses of the vaccine for the best protection. Mpox is often transmitted through close, sustained physical contact, almost exclusively associated with sexual contact. If you have symptoms of mpox visit a healthcare provider and get tested, even if you have been vaccinated. 

Read more about how to prioritize your sexual health! 

For more information on mpox, we invite you to visit:

CDC Mpox Page

MCDPH Mpox Page

AZDHS Mpox Page

—The Southwest Center Team

Mpox FAQs:

Below is a list of mpox FAQs and answers from the CDC and AZDHS.

Mpox is part of the same family of viruses as variola virus, the virus that causes smallpox. Mpox symptoms are similar to smallpox symptoms but milder, and mpox is rarely fatal.

  • Get vaccinated for mpox today! You can schedule your vaccination here.

  • Avoid close, skin-to-skin contact with people who have a rash that looks like mpox.

  • Avoid contact with objects and materials that a person with mpox has used.

  • Wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, especially before eating or touching your face and after you use the bathroom.

Yes! JYNNEOS is a 2-dose vaccine developed to protect against mpox infection. People need to get both doses of the vaccine for the best protection against mpox. The second dose should be given 4 weeks after the first dose.

For residents of Maricopa County, you can contact the Maricopa Department of Public Health to find local mpox vaccine clinics. Visit their mpox page here, or call MCDPH Cares Team at 602.506.6767.

For residents of Arizona outside of Maricopa County, please contact your county health department.

CDC recommends vaccination against mpox for the following people:

  • Those identified by public health officials as a contact of someone with mpox

  • Those with a sex partner in the past 2 weeks who was diagnosed with mpox

  • Known or suspected exposure to someone with mpox

  • Those with immune suppression who may be exposed to mpox

There is no specific treatment for mpox, but your healthcare provider may prescribe the antiviral tecovirimat (TPOXX) if you are at risk for severe illness or have a weakened immune system. TPOXX is currently free for those in need of this treatment. Most people will recover fully within 2 – 4 weeks without the need for treatment.

We highly recommend receiving the vaccine as there is no specific treatment for mpox at this time.

Symptoms usually appear within three weeks of exposure. Some people get a rash first, followed by other symptoms. Others only experience a rash. Symptoms of mpox can include:

  • A rash that can look like pimples or blisters that appear on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body, like the hands, feet, chest, genitals, or anus.

    • The rash goes through different stages before healing completely. The illness typically lasts 2-4 weeks.

  • Swollen lymph nodes (especially in the groin)

  • Muscle aches and backache

  • Headache

  • Fever

  • Chills

  • Respiratory symptoms (e.g. sore throat, nasal congestion, or cough)

  • See a healthcare provider if you notice a new or unexplained rash or other mpox symptoms.

  • Remind the healthcare provider that mpox is present in the United States.

  • Avoid close contact (including intimate physical contact) with others until you see a healthcare provider.

  • Avoid close contact with pets or other animals until you see a healthcare provider.

  • If you’re waiting for test results, follow the same precautions.

  • If your test result is positive, stay isolated and observe other prevention practices until your rash has healed, all scabs have fallen off, and a fresh layer of intact skin has formed.

  • Remain isolated if you have a fever, sore throat, nasal congestion, or cough. Only go out to see a healthcare provider or for an emergency. Avoid public transportation.

  • If you must leave isolation, cover the rash and wear a well-fitting mask.

Mpox can spread in a few different ways but often occurs through close skin-to-skin contact with someone infected with mpox.

  • Direct contact includes:

    • Skin touching an infected person’s rash, scabs, or bodily fluids.

    • Touching objects or personal items that have been used by someone with mpox AND not properly disinfected or cleaned.

      • This includes bedding, towels, fetish gear, and sex toys.

    • Respiratory large droplet secretions.

    • Intimate, sexual contact with an infected person including oral, anal, and vaginal sex or touching.

    • Hugging or kissing a person who has mpox.

  • Prolonged face-to-face contact with a person who has mpox.

  • A pregnant person can spread mpox to their fetus through the placenta.

  • Mpox can also be spread from infected animals, either by being scratched or bitten by the animal, but that has not been the primary mode of transmission for the 2022 outbreak in the U.S.

Mpox can more accurately be described as “sexually transmissible.” In other words, sex is just one of the ways that mpox can be spread.

In the past, mpox outbreaks have been linked to direct exposure to infected animals and animal products, with limited person-to-person spread. In the current mpox outbreak, it is spreading primarily through close personal contact. This may include contact with infectious lesions or respiratory secretions via close, sustained skin-to-skin contact that occurs during sex. However, any close, sustained skin-to-skin contact with someone who has mpox can spread it. The contact does not have to be exclusively intimate or sexual.

The CDC recommends people living with HIV receive the mpox vaccine. JYNNEOS is considered the safest mpox vaccine for those living wtih HIV.

Data is limited, but most HIV treatment can be safely given with mpox treatment and smallpox vaccines. People with HIV should inform their healthcare provider of all their medications to help determine if any interactions exist.

CDC continues to monitor mpox among people living with HIV.

The World Health Organization (WHO) mpox guidance states, “People living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy with suppressed viral load are not considered to be immunosuppressed.”

However, people living with HIV who are not virally suppressed may be at increased risk for severe illness and death from mpox.

People can spread mpox from the time symptoms start until all symptoms have resolved, including full healing of the rash with the formation of a fresh layer of skin (2 to 4 weeks). Individuals should remain isolated at home and away from others until all symptoms have resolved. People confirmed to have mpox should:

  • Follow ADHS isolation guidance for mpox

  • Avoid all close/physical contact, including but not limited to hugging, kissing, touching, and any sexual contact

  • Avoid sharing or handling objects that other people or animals use

    • Launder and disinfect items that have been worn or handled and surfaces that have been touched by a lesion

  • Avoid crowds and congregate settings

  • Wash hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, especially after direct contact with the rash

If you are unable to remain fully isolated throughout the illness, you should do the following:

    • While symptomatic with a fever OR any respiratory symptoms (cough, sore throat, nasal congestion) remain isolated at home and away from others unless it is necessary to see a healthcare provider

      • Avoid close or physical contact with other people and pets

      • Cover any rash/lesions with appropriate clothing, gloves and/or bandages

      • Wear a well-fitting mask around others*

  • While a rash persists but in the absence of a fever or respiratory symptoms:

    • Cover all parts of the rash with clothing, gloves, and/or bandages

    • Wear a well-fitting mask around others*

*Masks should fit closely on the face without any gaps along the edges or around the nose and be comfortable when worn properly over the nose and mouth.

Mpox is zoonotic, meaning it can spread between animals and people. However, CDC does not currently believe that mpox poses a high risk to pets. We are continuing to monitor the situation closely.

New information is continuing to develop. Please check the pages below for more detailed and up-to-date information.

CDC Mpox Page

MCDPH Mpox Page

AZDHS Mpox Page

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