Hidalgo County reports 3 more monkeypox cases

Vials of monkeypox vaccine. (Courtesy Photo)

There are now a total of six cases of monkeypox in Hidalgo County, the county health department said in a news release Monday.

The county announced three new cases of the virus this week in addition to the three cases reported last month.

The announcement of the three new cases of monkeypox comes as the Hidalgo County Health and Human Services Department says it will provide an update on the number of new cases every Monday on its website and social media pages

Along with the total number of cases in the county, the department will also provide the total number of confirmed cases statewide and nationally, the county stated in the news release.

With regard to the newly confirmed cases, the county did not release any other details citing “sensitivity involving the spread of the disease.”

“Unlike COVID, this disease is more difficult to spread because it involves physical contact with an infected person versus the airborne spread of COVID,” said Eduardo “Eddie” Olivarez, the chief administrative officer for the Hidalgo County Department of Health and Human Services. “We have determined that a weekly update on the number of monkeypox cases will suffice for now. If the rate of infection increases noticeably we will provide more frequent updates.”