The DC Department of Health reported a total of 350 positive monkeypox cases on Wednesday, August 17 as it released a dashboard for tracking data on the disease.
Most monkeypox infections were detected in DC residents ages 30 to 34, making up 28.6 percent of all cases, according to the Department’s data tracker.
Individuals infected with monkeypox were mainly male — 98 percent — as of Wednesday morning.
Around 39 percent of the monkeypox cases were reported in white people (the highest percentage), which is followed by African Americans (33 percent), and people who identify as Hispanic of Latino (16 percent), respectively.
Asians accounted for only 2.3 percent of the cases recorded in the District.
The dashboard also indicated that Ward 1 (20 percent), Ward 2 (19 percent), and Ward 5 (13 percent) are the areas most affected by monkeypox.
In the meantime, DC Health has administered a total of 16,124 monkeypox vaccinations so far, with more than 15,000 recipients being men and a majority between the ages 24 and 65.
The District’s current monkeypox data (as of Tuesday, Aug. 16) has been updated on https://t.co/E6wFDQf4OH
The current MPX case count in DC: 350
To see more data on monkeypox in the District, visit https://t.co/g9FLwpHy6v pic.twitter.com/LfuTpUcQHV
— DC Health (@_DCHealth) August 17, 2022
The health department announced the monkeypox data after receiving a letter from a group of DC council members, including Brianne Nadeau, Charles Allen, Elissa Silverman, Mary Cheh, and Trayon White, who demanded that DC Health inform the public more comprehensively on current data and risks concerning the disease, ahead of the upcoming new school year.
In their letter, the council members also touched on the monkeypox vaccination in the District, calling for fair distribution of vaccines.
Silverman thanked DC Health Director Dr. Sharon Lewis for the Department’s sharing of the information with residents.
This is government working together for a shared goal: Keeping DC residents healthy & protected against monkeypox. Kudos to new @_DCHealth director Dr. Sharon Lewis for making information public & accessible. And thanks to @councilofdc colleagues who joined letter to @_DCHealth! https://t.co/tX243nNbI8
— Elissa Silverman (@tweetelissa) August 17, 2022
In mid-July, Washington DC reported the most monkeypox cases per capita in the country, meaning one case per 6,500 residents.
The first positive case of Orthopox, to which monkeypox virus belongs, was confirmed in DC on June 4. The resident had reportedly had a recent trip to Europe.