Denver City Wire

In a video tweeted out this week by the City and County of Denver, Dr. Sterling McLaren explained the symptoms of monkeypox.

Monkeypox was first reported to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment in May 2022 with two cases. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment broke down the cases reported so far in this way: Number of human cases May 2022 - 2; June 2022 - 6; July 2022 - 66; August 2022 - 157; September 2022 - 71; Total 302.

“Monkey pox is a virus kind of like smallpox, but generally milder,” McLaren, the chief medical officer of the Denver Department of Public Health & Environment, said in the Twitter video. “So if you contract monkeypox, your symptoms often begin like the flu. You can get a fever, headache, muscle aches, maybe some swollen lymph nodes and just feel especially tired. Typically, a rash or bumps on the skin develop within one to three days after you've developed a fever. Sometimes people only experience a rash and no other symptoms. The rash can be bumps or it can look like pimples and blisters or pustules on your skin, and it can appear all over your body including your hands, face, feet and chest.”

The City of Denver provides a variety of information on its monkeypox web page. Visitors can find information on vaccine clinics, case counts, treatment and prevention.

The City has also expanded eligibility for monkeypox vaccinations, a recent report from The Denver Post said.

"The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on Wednesday [Aug. 31] announced that the monkeypox vaccine now is available to anyone — regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity — who meets the following criteria: Has had close physical contact with someone who has monkeypox in the last 14 days; Is identified as a known high-risk contact of someone who has monkeypox; Has had multiple sexual partners in the last 14 days; Has had close physical contact in the last 14 days with other people in a venue where anonymous or group sex may occur; Has had sexual partners they did not previously know in the last 14 days; Was diagnosed with gonorrhea or syphilis in the past three months; Who already uses or is eligible for medication to prevent HIV; Engages in commercial and/or transactional sex (e.g. sex in exchange for money, shelter, food and other goods or needs),” the report said. "Those seeking their first dose of the monkeypox vaccine as well as those who already received the first dose at least 28 days ago and would like to get the second dose can now schedule appointments using the state’s automated online system.”