As the state health department announces Wyoming’s second monkeypox case, it also is warning that condoms may not be enough to stop the spread.
The Wyoming Department of Health announced Monday that a man in Teton County has monkeypox, which is the state’s second case. This comes one week after the state’s first case was announced August 22. Wyoming was the last state in the nation with no known cases of monkeypox.
“We want people to realize monkeypox spreads through, intimate contact and does not spread easily like familiar viruses such as influenza or COVID-19,” said state health officer and epidemiologist Dr. Alexia Harrist in the department’s prepared statement.
It’s important to discuss monkeypox with “intimate partners,” the statement continues, to be aware of “any new or unexplained rash or lesions.”
Monkeypox typically involves rash, fever chills, headache, muscle aches and fatigue, and is “rarely fatal but is unpleasant and painful and can cause serious illness in some people,” according to the statement.
Anyone who has recently had monkeypox or who has it currently, or who has a new or unexplained rash “should not have sex and should see a healthcare provider,” it reads.
The department also cautioned people to limit one-time sexual encounters, or having multiple or anonymous sex partners.
“Condoms may provide some protection against monkeypox, but may not prevent all exposures because the rash can occur in other areas of the body,” the statement reads.
Some people who live or work in Wyoming are eligible for monkeypox vaccination, according to the department. Those include:
Men who have sex with men and who have had multiple or anonymous sexual partners in the last year;
Partners of men who fit the above description;
Transgender and nonbinary persons “assigned male” at birth who have sex with multiple or anonymous sexual partners who are male ”or male assigned at birth” within the past year;
Sex workers of any sex;
Those who may be eligible can reach the department at 307-777-6004 or at https://health.wyo.gov/publichealth/nursing/phn-co-offices/
The federal government is providing the vaccines through the state at no cost, the department noted, adding that “a small administration fee may be charged.”
