Health authorities in Los Angeles are investigating the death of a second person infected with monkeypox in the United States.
It is still unknown what role the disease played in his death and according to Dr. Rita Singhal, medical chief of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the results of the autopsy will take days or weeks to be known.
"We are in the early stages of the investigation
and we have no additional details available at this time," Singhal told a news conference on Thursday.
Laboratory image of monkeypox. Smith Collection / Gado via Getty Images
According to The New York Times, as part of the investigation of the case, health officials in Los Angeles will work with the state of California and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to evaluate the guidelines on how to treat severe cases of monkeypox.
[“Very few people are dying of monkeypox in the current outbreak, but there are other complications”]
There have been 21,500 monkeypox infections in the United States so far,
according to the CDC.
In California reporting 4,140, the highest number of cases in the country and in Los Angeles about 1,694 have tested positive, local authorities said.
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"Globally, seven deaths have been confirmed among monkeypox cases in non-endemic countries," the doctor said.
Last month, Texas authorities announced the death of a man diagnosed with the disease, according to investigations the person was immunocompromised.
