LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services want to make sure Michiganders are educated when it comes to monkeypox. They just launched a new website to help do just that.
That website is Michigan.gov/mpv. Through the website, you'll be able to get some information about how the virus is transmitted, what the signs and symptoms are and what treatments are available.
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian is the chief medical executive at state health department. She says the virus is passed by close contact.
"We're really talking about either direct contact with the skin, direct contact with infected lesion, or contaminated materials or really close face to face contact," Dr. Bagdasarian said. "So if you are walking past someone in a grocery store, that would not be considered a high risk activity, but really anything where you're coming into close contact with individuals or coming into contact with skin lesions, that could be an opportunity for transmission of the virus to happen."
So far Michigan has 25 known cases, and none of those cases are in mid-Michigan. But Dr. Bagdasarian says the state is in containment mode.
"And that means that as a state, we're trying to contain cases of monkey pox virus and prevent further transmission. So this is a virus that have been endemic in a few countries in the world, but it has not been endemic or widely circulating in places like the United States," Dr. Bagdasarian said. "In containment mode, what we are trying to prevent is we're trying to prevent this virus from becoming endemic, and really circulating widely and becoming something that is found here over a longer period of time."
The state has a plan to combat this virus. Parts of that plan includes testing, using the vaccine for those who have been exposed or may have been exposed and, of course, treatment.
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