First monkeypox death reported in US

Monkeypox has killed its first person in the US.

The Californian resident had a severely weakened immune system and had been hospitalised, the Los Angeles Department of Public Health said today.

No further information about the fatality will be made public, the department said.

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"Persons severely immunocompromised who suspect they have monkeypox are encouraged to seek medical care and treatment early and remain under the care of a provider during their illness," the statement said.

Deaths from monkeypox are extremely rare and often affect babies, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems, such as from HIV.

A person in Texas, who had monkeypox died last month, but the virus' role in that death has not been confirmed.

There have been almost 22,000 cases of probable or confirmed monkeypox reported in the US this year, according to national data.

California has the most cases: 4300.

There are 129 known cases of the virus in Australia.

With 67, Victoria has the most cases, followed by 50 in New South Wales.

There are just a smattering of cases in Western Australia, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia.

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Globally in this outbreak, there have been almost 58,000 cases and 18 confirmed deaths, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Trends in monkeypox cases appear to be levelling off, officials have said, but that shouldn't lead to complacency.

"We're continuing to see a downward trend in Europe," World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last week.

"While reported cases from the Americas also declined last week, it's harder to draw firm conclusions about the epidemic in that region.

"Some countries in the Americas continue to report increasing number of cases and in some there is likely to be underreporting due to stigma and discrimination or a lack of information for those who need it most.

He warned a downward trend "can be the most dangerous time" if it opens the door to complacency.

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With CNN