Mpox
For more information or questions about where to get the vaccine or find out if you qualify, please call 211, option 8.
If you are concerned about having mpox symptoms please call (405) 426.8710.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) has expanded the eligibility criteria of the JYNNEOS vaccine to the following:
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)
Vaccination for anyone who feels they may be at risk for mpox.
Those at highest-risk for exposure to mpox should consider JYNNEOS vaccination.
Individuals at higher-risk include:
- Anyone who identifies as a gay or bisexual man, man who has sex with men, or transgender person and has engaged in the following within the past 14 days or plans to engage in these activities in the near future:
- Sex with two or more partners.
- Sex at a commercial sex venue.
- Sex in association with an event or venue.
- Sex in a geographical area where mpox is circulating in the community at high levels.
- Persons with an HIV diagnosis
- Any man who has sex with men and has had a syphilis diagnosis within the last 12 months
- Persons in a high-risk occupation, such as, sex professionals or persons who exchange sex for drugs, money, housing, or safety.
- Persons who have had skin-to-skin contact with a person diagnosed with mpox.
- Persons who have had sex or other skin-to-skin contact at an event/venue in which mpox cases have been linked.
- Women who are currently having sexual contact with a person who identifies as gay, a bisexual man, or a man who has sex with men
- Healthcare workers providing direct patient care to persons who may be infected with mpox
- Urgent care providers who provide direct patient care
- Emergency room providers who provide direct patient care
- Laboratory workers working with mpox specimens
- Healthcare workers diagnosing and/or treating patients with STIs
- Any person diagnosed with syphilis in the previous 12 months
- Any partner of an individual who has been diagnosed with syphilis in the previous 12 months
- Anyone who identifies as a gay or bisexual man, man who has sex with men, or transgender person who in the past six months have had
- A new diagnosis of one or more nationally reportable sexually transmitted infection (i.e., acute HIV, chancroid, chlamydia, gonorrhea or syphilis)
- More than one sexual partner
Mpox may cause fever and swollen lymph nodes. Headache, muscle ad backache, chills and exhaustion can also be present. A painful rash develops and goes through several stages including fluid and pus-filled blisters that eventually get crusty, scab over and fall off.
Mpox can spread through any type of skin-to-skin contact with an infected person including, but not limited to, sexual contact. At this point, it is not known if mpox virus will spread through semen or vaginal fluids. However, the rash can look similar to symptoms of STIs such as herpes and syphilis. Mouth-to-skin contact can spread mpox when blisters are present. Condoms may not prevent the spread of mpox.
If you think you have mpox, contact the OSDH Epi-on-Call, 405-426-8710, for a free confidential consultation, or your healthcare provider for advice, testing and medical care. Self-isolate away from others to protect them from infection. Cover all possible blisters (e.g., wearing closing over the rash).
Close contact to someone who has mpox may be eligible for post-exposure vaccination to prevent illness. For close contact consultation, call the OSDH Epi-on-Call, 405-426-8710. Monitor yourself for symptoms for 21 days from exposure. If symptoms develop, self-isolate away from others and contact the OSDH Epi-on-Call or your healthcare provider for advice and testing.
Mpox is a reportable disease in Oklahoma as an unusual condition. Mpox is a rare illness that causes rash, chills, and fever. It is caused by the mpox virus, which belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox. In the United States, the first outbreak of the virus occurred in June 2003 among dozens of people who became infected by contact with pet prairie dogs that had contact with imported African rodents.
Mpox virus usually occurs in central and western Africa in animals such as monkeys, squirrels, and rats. Mpox may spread to people when they are bitten by or touch the blood, other body fluids, or rash of an animal infected with mpox. Sometimes, mpox is spread from one person to another through very close contact or by touching body fluids of a person with mpox. Objects, such as bedding or clothing, contaminated with the virus may also spread mpox.
Symptoms of mpox in animals may include fever, cough, eye discharge, swollen lymph nodes (seen as swelling in the limbs), and a bumpy or blistery rash. Infected pets may also appear very tired and may not eat or drink.
Symptoms in humans develop about 12 days after infection and include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, and swollen lymph nodes. A rash that turns into fluid-filled bumps develops about three days after the fever. The bumps later form a crust and fall off. The illness can last up to a month.
Quick Facts About Mpox
- Quick Facts About Mpox - English
- Quick Facts About Mpox - Spanish
Mpox Fact Sheets and Information:
Mpox Flyer
- Mpox Flyer - English
- Mpox Flyer - Spanish
- Mpox Flyer for Healthcare Facility – English
- Mpox Flyer for Healthcare Facility – Spanish
