(NEXSTAR) – More than 70 countries and nearly every U.S. state has reported cases of monkeypox as the outbreak, now considered a global emergency by the World Health Organization, expands.
A global emergency is WHO’s highest level of alert but the designation does not necessarily mean a disease is particularly transmissible or lethal. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is considering whether to declare monkeypox a public health emergency as the nationwide case total nears 3,500.
Massachusetts reported the U.S.’s first case of the monkeypox virus in May in a man who had recently traveled to Canada. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 3,487 cases across 45 states.
Seventeen of the states that have reported cases have less than 10 total, CDC data shows. Six states and the District of Columbia have each confirmed more than 100 total cases.
The majority of cases have been reported in New York, which has 990 cumulative cases as of Tuesday. Well behind New York is California at nearly 356 cases.
The map below shows the total number of cases confirmed in each state based on CDC data. The District of Columbia, which is not included in the map, has seen 139 cases.
Five states have yet to report a case: Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, Vermont, and Maine.
Monkeypox is a type of orthopoxvirus that is related to smallpox, but typically less severe. It was discovered over 60 years ago in monkeys being kept for research, and was first found in humans in 1970.
Symptoms typically present one to two weeks after exposure and include a headache, fever, muscle aches, backache, chills, exhaustion, and swollen lymph nodes. A few days before having a fever, monkeypox patients report developing a rash that usually begins on their face and spreads to other parts of the body.
Monkeypox typically lasts only two to four weeks but can be fatal, according to the CDC.
The virus is transmitted most often by person-to-person contact, or when a person comes in contact with an animal or material contaminated with monkeypox viral matter. There is no specific treatment for monkeypox. Some antivirals, vaccines, and vaccinia immune globulin can be used to treat the virus and manage symptoms.
Some metro areas like New York City and San Francisco are working to provide monkeypox vaccines but a shortage has hampered many.
The Associated Press and Maureen Breslin contributed to this report.