NETEC provides free, ongoing technical support and assistance to healthcare facilities in response to U.S. outbreak of Mpox Virus

Share this article

PRESS RELEASE 

NETEC provides free, ongoing technical support and assistance to healthcare facilities in response to U.S. outbreak of Mpox Virus 

Renaming to mpox

NETEC is in the process of updating its web pages with the term “mpox” to reduce stigma and other issues associated with prior terminology. This change is aligned with the World Health Organization decision.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

5/20/2022  

Following the confirmation of a U.S. based case of mpox on Wednesday, the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC) continues to support U.S. healthcare agencies that encounter, or may encounter, a case of mpox virus infection with free, ongoing guidance and resources. NETEC experts are available to provide free consultations and technical support services through NETEC’s online service request portal and at info@netec.org.  

On May 18, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed a single case of mpox virus infection in an adult male, with recent travel to Canada. The patient is being cared for at Massachusetts General Hospital, which is the ASPR Region 1 Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center (RESPTC), a network of specialized teams coordinated and trained by NETEC.  

“Since the first cases of mpox were discovered outside endemic areas, NETEC leadership has been in contact with clinicians and public health officials in the impacted regions, providing frequent mpox situation reports to the nation’s RESPTCs and their partners,” reports Aneesh Mehta, Co-Principal Investigator for NETEC at Emory University.  

Public health agencies have been tracking multiple clusters of mpox reported in several countries that typically do not see mpox cases including Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Italy, and the United Kingdom (CDC, Accessed 2022, https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/s0518-monkeypox-case.html) since early May 2022. Many of these cases have been acquired without travel to Central or Western Africa, where mpox is endemic.  This is the first case of mpox identified in the U.S. since November 2021 (CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/mpox/outbreaks/past-us-cases/, Accessed 2025).  

Mpox is a rare but potentially serious viral illness that typically begins with flu-like symptoms, followed by a rash that often begins on the face and then spreads to other parts of the body. Some patients have had genital lesions and the rash may be hard to distinguish from syphilis, herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection, chancroid, varicella zoster, and other more common infections. 

Guidance issued by the CDC (CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/mpox/, Accessed 2025) on Friday, 5/20/22 advises that clinicians should remain alert for patients that present rash illnesses consistent with mpox regardless of their travel histories; implement the identify, isolate, and inform strategy to reduce potential exposures in their facilities; and adhere to a combination of standard, contact, airborne, and droplet precautions in all healthcare settings when a patient presents with fever and vesicular/pustular rash (CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/mpox/, Accessed 2025). 

For more about the mpox virus or to request technical assistance, visit NETEC.org and the CDC.  

### 

WORD COUNT:  388  

MEDIA CONTACT 

Nichole Huff, Senior Director of Communications 

Email: huffn1@nychhc.org  

Phone:  929-475-6391 (Mobile) / 347-835-7421 (Personal)