Contra Costa launches new data sharing, tracking of monkeypox cases

Contra Costa will begin sharing its monkeypox case data with the California Public Health Department to improve the efficiency of surveillance and early detection of the infectious viral disease.

The move highlights lessons learned from HIV and the COVID-19 pandemic and the advantage of gathering data quickly and accurately to support the epidemiological understanding of the origins and transmission dynamics of monkeypox.

In an unanimous vote Tuesday, the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors approved a contract with the state’s data management system, CalConnect, for case investigation, contact tracing, outbreak management and data collection.

The database stores demographic information such as age and gender of people who test positive for monkeypox and collects relevant clinical information, risk factor and laboratory test results for case investigation, disease prevention and surveillance.

The U.S. declared monkeypox a public health emergency in August, around the same time health officials told the Board of Supervisors that there were 31 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Contra Costa County and another 13 suspected cases, posing another hurdle for public health facilities overrun by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of Contra Costa monkeypox cases has increased to 112. Statewide, there are 5,547 cases, including 241 in Alameda County and 832 in San Francisco County. There are 28,881 known cases in the U.S. and 11 deaths confirmed to be linked to the virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Monkeypox is known to spread through close contact and causes symptoms including fever, body aches and often painful pus-filled skin lesions.

CDC data also shows that Black and Hispanic men who have sex with other men are disproportionately affected, leading some public health officials and community representatives to express concern about the stigmatizing effect of monkeypox in these populations.

The county plans to continue utilizing this data-sharing and surveillance strategy for the next three years.

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