Since May 2022, monkeypox cases, which have historically been rare in the United States, have been identified in 18 states and territories among both persons returning from international travel and their close contacts domestically. Globally, more than 1,600 cases have been reported from more than 30 countries; the case count continues to rise daily. In the United States, evidence of person-to-person disease transmission in multiple states and reports of clinical cases with some uncharacteristic features have raised concern that some cases are not being recognized and tested.

This Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Update serves to alert clinicians to clinical presentations of monkeypox seen so far in the United States and to provide updated and expanded case definitions intended to encourage testing for monkeypox among persons presenting for care with relevant history, signs, and symptoms. In addition, this Health Update provides an update to a HAN Health Advisory that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued May 20, 2022 titled Monkeypox Virus Infection in the United States and Other Non-endemic Countries—2022. (https://www.cdc.gov/mpox/hcp/case-definitions/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/mpox/clinicians/case-definition.html). In people with epidemiologic risk factors (https://www.cdc.gov/mpox/hcp/case-definitions/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/mpox/clinicians/case-definition.html), rashes initially considered characteristic of more common infections (e.g., varicella zoster, herpes, syphilis) should be carefully evaluated for concurrent characteristic monkeypox rash (see images and links to below) and considered for testing.

Please see the following link for the full CDC Health Update:
https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2022/han00468.asp

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