As of Friday, September 9, 191 confirmed or probable MPX cases have been identified among Orange County residents. Over the last several weeks there has been a leveling off in the number of cases reported per week. The epidemiology and demographics of cases have not changed substantially. Weekly data updates on MPX in the County is available on the OCHCA Monkeypox Homepage.

On September 8, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released guidance Recommendations for Management of Persons with Possible Exposure to Someone with Monkeypox (MPX) in Community Settings. This guidance differs from guidance on Exposures that has been promulgated by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The Healthcare Agency supports CDPH’s guidance, it provides better clarity as well as being supported by available data.

Providers should continue to test for MPX in patients who meet the epidemiologic criteria. Testing patients without epidemiologic risks in whom you are considering MPX should be done with caution as false-positive test results have been confirmed. In the case of pediatric cases without epidemiologic risk factors please contact OCHCA Communicable Disease Control so that we can assist with evaluation as well as in arranging testing through CDPH, see CDPH’s recent CAHAN Updated Guidance on Laboratory Testing of Pediatric Patients for Monkeypox (MPX) Virus Infection in California.

Providers should continue to evaluate confirmed and suspect MPX cases for treatment with tecovirimat. The CDC has further simplified the documentation requirements for treating patients with tecovirimat. Most of the large healthcare systems in the county have made tecovirimat available through their hospital pharmacies. Instructions on obtaining tecovirimat are available here.

JYNNEOS vaccine for MPX post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and for those at highest risk for MPX is available through the county. In addition, a limited number of providers with many high-risk patients have been given JYNNEOS vaccine for distribution. If you have patients who are eligible for JYNNEOS for the preventions of MPX they can be referred to https://othena.com/ where they can book an appointment for vaccination.