Anyone can get monkeypox: Buncombe health director on how WNC will fight virus
ASHEVILLE - Buncombe County is at the center of Western North Carolina vaccination monkeypox virus efforts and has already immunized 60 people, according to Public Health Director Stacie Saunders.
Buncombe Health and Human Services already has received 520 doses of the vaccine over three shipments and has sent 100 doses to other providers in the region, Saunders said in a news conference July 22, a day after the county reported its first monkeypox case.
"Right now for Buncombe County we are acting as a hub for the Western North Carolina region," Saunders said. Local vaccine supply is limited but growing, she noted.
Saunders also talked about whom the virus is affecting and what steps to take after exposure.
"Anyone can get monkeypox," she said. "And in this particular outbreak we are seeing it disproportionately impact our men-who-have-sex-with-men individuals and transgender individuals. Nearly all the cases in North Carolina have been among men who have sex with men and transgender family and loved ones."
Saunders invited those individuals along with anyone who has had contact with someone who has the monkeypox virus to come and get tested at regional health centers.
Those eligible for vaccines right now include:
Those who have been exposed to the monkeypox virus.
Men who have sex with men.
Transgender individuals.
"If you are in a group that is being heavily impacted by this particular outbreak, we want you to come see us. We want you to be looking for signs and symptoms. We want you to be checked out. We want you to come and get tested. And we want you to come and get a vaccine," Saunders said, noting nearly all cases in the state were in these group.
"We need that group to hear us and understand that we're here to help."
BCHHS is asking those concerned about infection to get checked, get tested and, if eligible, get protected.
How many WNC cases? Where to go for help?
As of July 22, there were 27 monkeypox cases in North Carolina, according to North Carolina Health and Human Services data.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 2,593 cases in the U.S. July 21.
Saunders said there will not be local updates on the number of monkeypox cases in Buncombe County.
Free monkeypox vaccines are available at the county health department, which is the vaccine hub for the region and has offices at 40 Coxe Ave., downtown.
Individuals also can receive the vaccine at Western North Carolina Community Health Services, which has offices at Minnie Jones Health Center, 257 Biltmore Ave.
Anyone can reach BCHHS staff at 828-250-5300 if they have questions about possible exposure or need to be vaccinated for monkeypox.
WNCCHS is at 828-285-0622.
Symptoms
Monkeypox often begins with fever, exhaustion, headache and sometimes sore throat and cough, a July 21 release from BCHHS stated.
Lymph nodes may swell in the neck, armpits, or groin, on one or both sides of the body. Shortly after a rash may appear. In some of the recent cases, the first symptom was a rash. This may also look like blisters, sores, bumps or pimples.
More: North Carolina's 1st case of monkeypox reported in Haywood County
More: As monkeypox outbreak spreads, CDC pledges more vaccines. Here's what to know.
It's transferred person to person through direct skin-to-skin contact.
Such contact often occurs during prolonged, face-to-face contact or during intimate physical contact, such as kissing, cuddling or sex.
Anyone can get monkeypox but in the current outbreak, many of the cases are in individuals who have multiple or anonymous sex partners.
Andrew Jones is Buncombe County government and health care reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at @arjonesreports on Facebook and Twitter, 828-226-6203 or arjones@citizentimes.com. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Buncombe health director: 520 monkeypox vaccines here, more coming
