ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Monkeypox is now in the Lehigh Valley area.
Six cases of the disease have been diagnosed in Bucks County, including one at Doylestown Hospital, where the patient was treated and released, Doylestown Hospital said in a statement.
Doylestown Hospital said clinicians are well prepared to evaluate patients for symptoms, along with diagnosis through readily available testing. Additionally, its clinicians can coordinate with the Bucks County Department of Health to assist patient with both treatment, and vaccination when indicated, it said.
Lehigh Valley Health Network says that in the past few days, it has confirmed the virus in several patients and is awaiting test results on several other patients.
“As the region’s health care leader, we are prepared to respond to this evolving outbreak,” it said in a statement.
St. Luke’s University Medical Center said it’s recently been aware of several local cases, but it’s had no admissions for it. St. Luke’s says it can usually be treated on an outpatient basis.
The World Health Organization recently declared monkeypox a public health emergency, and it’s slowly been spreading across the world. It’s a viral disease that includes fever, aches and a rash that looks like pimples or blisters.
Lehigh Valley Health Network said it is closely monitoring the spread of the virus.
The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970 with relatively few reported cases until the current multinational outbreak of 2022.
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