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Mpox (monkeypox)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDPHE, and local public health officials are currently monitoring cases of mpox (monkeypox) in Colorado. 

Mpox is a virus in the orthopox family of viruses. Mpox is rare, but it can be serious for people who get it.

Mpox can spread from person to person when someone who has mpox has close contact with someone else. Close contact can mean physical contact with the sores, bumps, or lesions of someone who has mpox. Close contact includes sex. Mpox can also spread through touching the bed linens or clothing of someone who has mpox. Mpox can also live on other surfaces for some time.

Recent cases in the United States have been infected through person-to-person contact. Brief interactions without physical contact are unlikely to result in getting the virus.

Mpox has recently been spreading in parts of the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It is endemic in central and west Africa. Anyone can get mpox. The virus does not discriminate against any group. In context of the current outbreak, men who have sex with men may be at higher risk for contracting mpox, based on recent data. Transgender people and gender-diverse people may also be at higher risk.

The type of mpox spreading in the United States is rarely deadly and has a fatality rate of less than 1%. In fact, in most cases, mpox will resolve on its own. Symptoms of mpox may begin with flu-like symptoms that can include fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, and exhaustion. Typically, a rash or skin bumps develop within one to three days after the onset of fever, often beginning on the face then spreading to other parts of the body. 

Mpox can look like syphilis, herpes, blisters, or even acne, so be sure to get checked out if you develop a new rash or bumps. In recent cases, additional symptoms have not always occurred before the rash or bumps if they have occurred at all. The incubation period for mpox is usually seven to 14 days but can range from less than five to 21 days. Most people recover within two to four weeks.

Colorado case numbers from the 2022 mpox outbreak are listed below according to the month in which a person first presented with mpox symptoms. CDPHE continues to monitor for mpox transmission in the state and will provide regular updates to the public if there is another outbreak or surge in cases in Colorado.

Date of presentation Number of human cases
May 2022 2
June 2022 6
July 2022 66
August 2022 157
September 2022 80
October 2022 32
November 2022 45
December 2022 16
January 2023 1
February 2023 0
Total 405

 

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Vaccine data dashboard

This data dashboard provides information on the number of mpox vaccine doses administered, the number of people vaccinated with a dose of mpox vaccine, and daily and cumulative doses administered over time. It includes all Jynneos vaccine doses entered in the state’s Colorado Immunization Information System (CIIS) on or after May 27, 2022, when the state first began administering mpox vaccine. 

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