No presence of Mpox found in latest Palm Springs wastewater testing results, RivCo Health announces
The presence of Mpox was no longer detected in Palm Springs' wastewater, Riverside County Public Health announced on Monday
"RivCo Public Health reports there was no detection of Mpox in the samples taken from the City’s wastewater treatment plant during the testing period of May 8 – 15, 2023," reads a post by the city of Palm Springs.
"I think it's a good indication that we're seeing that trend that it's coming back down," Dr. Jennifer Chevinsky, Riverside County's Deputy Public Health Officer. "I mentioned that it does overlap with the time of the White Party, so again, a good indication that it was not a significant amount of disease spread during that time."
The announcement comes a few days after county health officials announced that the presence of MPox, previously known as monkeypox, was detected in the city's wastewater of Palm Springs for the first time since February. The data for this was from the testing period of May 1 - 8.
Riverside County has had a total of 316 Mpox confirmed and probable cases since the 2022 outbreak, however, Dr. Chevinsky said in an update last week that the county hasn't reported an MPox since December.
MPOX Update 5.15.23 from RUHS Public Health on Vimeo.
Despite the drop in the presence of the virus, Dr. Chevinsky encouraged people to be cautious and vigilant of Mpox.
There are multiple services available for Mpox vaccinations, testing, and treatment. You can make an appointment at upcoming vaccine clinics here: https://www.ruhealth.org/upcoming-vaccine-clinics. There is one scheduled for May 25 at the Demuth Community Center in Palm Springs.
For more information on Mpox in Riverside County, visit the county health's website at: https://www.ruhealth.org/mpox.
