First confirmed death due to monkeypox reported in Los Angeles County, officials say

A patient hospitalized with monkeypox died from the disease in Los Angeles County, public health officials confirmed on Sept. 12.

Deaths caused by monkeypox are considered particularly rare, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

The county resident who died was “severely immunocompromised,” according to a news release from the Los Angeles Department of Public Health. The health agency alongside the CDC confirmed the patient’s cause of death.

“Persons severely immunocompromised who suspect they have monkeypox are encouraged to seek medical care and treatment early and remain under the care of a provider during their illness,” the release states.

Monkeypox is known to affect people with compromised immune systems more severely, the CDC reports.

The California patient’s death comes after health officials in Texas confirmed the first death of a person who had been diagnosed with monkeypox on Aug. 30 in a news release. That person was also extremely immunocompromised.

However, as of Sept. 13, it has not been determined whether the Texas patient officially died due to the disease.

As for the Los Angeles County patient, health officials said they will not provide any extra information regarding their death out of respect for the patient’s privacy, according to the release.

In the U.S., there have been 21,985 confirmed monkeypox cases across all 50 states as of Sept. 12, according to the CDC.

A monkeypox infection can cause a visible skin rash on the genitals or other areas of the body that can appear differently throughout its stages, according to the CDC. Sometimes, the rash is painful or itchy, and can look like pimples or blisters.

Other symptoms of monkeypox include fever, chills, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes and more, according to the CDC.

This story was originally published September 13, 2022 at 1:30 PM with the headline "First confirmed death due to monkeypox reported in Los Angeles County, officials say."

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.