The state Department of Health reported one additional case of mpox in a nonresident diagnosed on Oahu — the fifth case diagnosed in Hawaii so far this year.

There have been a total of 51 mpox cases in Hawaii since June 22, 2022, according to a DOH news release issued Thursday.

Health officials are advising people at higher risk of mpox infection to consider being vaccinated with two doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine, which is available statewide.

Laboratory testing of the latest case has determined it to be mpox clade II, the type that has caused the current global outbreak that began in 2022, the DOH said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently been increasing monitoring of mpox clade I activity in Africa including an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “While mpox clade I has not been detected in the United States or Hawaiʻi during the current outbreak, it can cause more severe illness and deaths. Some outbreaks have killed up to 10% of the people who get sick, although more recent outbreaks have had lower death rates,” the DOH said.

“While the risk to the general public in the U.S., as a result of the outbreak of mpox clade I in the DRC is very low, the JYNNEOS vaccination is the best way for those at increased risk of mpox infections to protect themselves from both mpox clade I and II.”

Those at higher risk who should consider being vaccinated include:

>> Individuals who meet both the following criteria:

a. Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, as well as transgender people who have sex with men; and

b. have multiple or casual sex partners (such as through dating apps) or expect to have this mpox risk in the future.

>> People who have a sex partner in any of the categories described above.

>> Anyone with close contact in the last 14 days to a person with known or suspected mpox infection.

>> People with severely compromised immune systems.

>> Anyone in any of these categories who has received only one mpox vaccine dose.

To stay protected during Pride events in Fall 2024, DOH said those at higher risk of mpox should complete the two-dose vaccine series this summer. It takes a minimum of four weeks to complete the series.

The DOH and health care providers in each county continue to vaccinate high-risk individuals. Find a provider at health.hawaii.gov/mpox.