The Los Angeles Department of Public Health announced on Monday that the area’s first death due to monkeypox has been confirmed.
The death is the second reported fatality in the United States related to monkeypox. The California health agency noted that the victim was “severely immunocompromised.”
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“The Los Angeles Department of Public Health, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has confirmed the first death due to monkeypox in a Los Angeles County resident. Public Health sends heartfelt condolences and wishes of healing to the family and friends mourning the loss of their loved one,” the Los Angeles Department of Public Health said in a statement.
“The resident was severely immunocompromised and had been hospitalized,” the department added.
It did not release any additional details about the deceased person.
The LADPH recommends that people who are severely immunocompromised and suspect they have monkeypox seek medical care and treatment early and remain under the care of a medical provider during the course of the illness.
Monkeypox is rarely fatal, according to health officials. The virus spreads through close contact with an infected person, and while anyone can become infected with monkeypox, nearly all of the more than 21,000 monkeypox cases in the U.S. have occurred among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, according to the CDC.
The first death of a person with monkeypox in the U.S. was reported in Texas last month.
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The Texas Department of State Health Services said the person was a “severely immunocompromised” adult and that the agency is investigating what role monkeypox had in the person’s death.
The CDC has recorded 18 deaths from the monkeypox virus in nine different countries. Nearly 58,000 cases of monkeypox have been confirmed by the CDC worldwide.
