FILE - This 2003 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virions, left, and spherical immature virions, right, obtained from a sample of human skin associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. U.S. health officials are expanding the group of people recommended to get vaccinated against the monkeypox virus. They also say they are providing more monkeypox vaccine, working to expand testing, and taking other steps to try to get ahead of the outbreak. (Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner/CDC via AP, file)
Monkeypox cases in Sonoma County remain low and appear to be going down. Cases appeared to peak in the week ending July 31st when a total of 11 cases were confirmed or suspected. Since then, the numbers have gone down to just two for the week ending on August 28th. Also, monkeypox DNA found in waste water at the Santa Rosa regional plant has fallen by over 65-percent within the month of August. Despite the results, though, health officer Dr. Sundari Mase tells the Press Democrat that definitive trends cannot be established due to how low infections numbers are. A total of 36 monkeypox cases have been detected in Sonoma County, including 21 confirmed and 15 probable or suspected cases.