Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/utqGh5aJvwg   Monkeypox, the orthopox viral infection typically only occurring in Africa, is rapidly spreading around the world.   As of August 4th, the total number of worldwide cases was 26,864 with all but 345 occurring in countries where this disease has not been previously reported.   Though not usually fatal, at least 77 Africans have died and an additional 5 deaths have been reported outside of Africa.   The total number of confirmed US monkeypox cases as of August 4th is 7102 with cases occurring in every state except Montana and Wyoming.  Most current US cases associated with male-male sexual intimacy.  The states hit the hardest are New York, Florida, Illinois, Texas, and California.   The last major  US outbreak occurred in 2003 with 47 confirmed or probable cases in 6 states, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin, traced to infected pet prairie dogs that had been housed near imported small mammals from Africa.  Then, in 2021, two isolated cases of mo