A Texas man has described his “traumatic” battle with monkeypox, as more than 2,000 cases have been documented in the US.
The patient, Luke Shanahan, told Houston’s KHOU 11 that his ordeal began after the Dallas Health Department notified him that he had been exposed to the virus.
“I was at the bars. I went to pool parties. I went to a music event over the weekend and all these people have been positive lately,” Shanahan said. “Apparently it was a contact tracing phone call.”
Shanahan said he has spent the past three weeks in quarantine battling symptoms he described as “absolute hell.”
“You have these blisters that are inflamed and every time you scrape something or touch something, it literally feels like someone is touching your skin with a potato peeler,” Luke told the station.
There are currently more than 2,000 reported cases of monkeypox in the U.S., even though it is much less contagious than COVID-19. AP
“All the pain was just constant,” the patient said.
Luke received a monkeypox vaccine after contracting the disease. “Please help us get this vaccine out,” he said. Getty Images
Shanahan told NBC DFW that his monkeypox symptoms were “100 times worse” than the coronavirus he contracted last summer.
He was able to get a vaccination against monkeypox, which is accompanied by a blistering rash all over his body and swollen lymph nodes.
“This is the most traumatic experience I have ever had. It’s the worst I’ve ever been sick,” he told KHOU 11.
The infection, which is spread through bodily fluids and prolonged contact, is widespread among gay men, but Texas just reported its first case in a woman, according to the publication.
“It’s definitely something we need to pay attention to. It’s not just a gay disease, it’s not something that only affects gay men who have sex with men. It’s definitely something that can affect anyone,” LGBTQ advocate Austin Davis Ruiz told KHOU 11.
There were just over 2,000 reported cases in the country, the CDC said Tuesday. New York had 581 cases – the most in the US.
According to health officials, monkeypox is much less contagious than COVID-19.
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