‘Be on alert’: Mpox detected in sewage samples in North Carolina, health officials say
AND IT’S TIME FOR NEWS TO GO. WE’VE GOT A LOOK AT TODAY’S TOP NEWS STORIES. TRAFFIC AND WEATHER. ALL BEFORE YOU HEAD OUT THE DOOR. WE START WITH THE WORLD CONTINUING TO MOURN THE DEATH OF POPE FRANCIS. THE VATICAN SAYS THE 88 YEAR OLD DIED OF A CEREBRAL STROKE THAT PUT HIM INTO A COMA AND LED TO IRREVERSIBLE HEART FAILURE. HIS DEATH CAME JUST HOURS AFTER EASTER SUNDAY. CARDINAL JORGE BERGOGLIO WAS ELECTED POPE WHEN POPE BENEDICT ABRUPTLY RESIGNED IN 2013. HE CHOSE THE NAME FRANCIS AFTER SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI, KNOWN FOR HIS POVERTY AND HUMILITY. POPE FRANCIS WAS BORN IN ARGENTINA AND WAS THE FIRST LATIN AMERICAN POPE. AS LEADER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, HE ADVOCATED HEAVILY FOR IMMIGRANTS, REFUGEES, AND THE POOR. HE SHOWED A LIGHTER TOUCH THAN PREVIOUS POPES ON SOCIAL ISSUES LIKE GAY MARRIAGE. HIS PASSING HAS MANY, INCLUDING LOCAL PRIESTS, THINKING ABOUT HIS 12 YEAR PAPACY. I THINK HE’S A VERY NONTRADITIONAL POPE IN A LOT OF WAYS. AND YET HE WAS VERY TRADITIONAL IN OTHER WAYS. HE WANTED TO SEE THE CHURCH GO IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION. HE WANTED TO SEE THE CHURCH TEAR DOWN SOME OF THE WALLS THAT HAD TRADITIONALLY BEEN THERE. HE ALSO WANTED TO SEE THE CHURCH OUTREACHING MORE TO. HE TOOK THE NAME FRANCIS FOR A REASON THAT THE A WEALTHY CHURCH REALLY HELPING THE POOR AND THE MARGINALIZED. PRESIDENT TRUMP AND FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP PLANNED TO ATTEND POPE FRANCIS’S FUNERAL IN ROME. THAT FUNERAL WILL BE TAKING PLACE THIS SATURDAY AT 10 A.M. IN SAINT PETER’S SQUARE. RIGHT NOW, WE’RE TAKING A LIVE LOOK THIS MORNING, RIGHT NOW IN ROME. THE TIME NOW IS AROUND 12:45 P.M. YOU CAN SEE HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE JUST GOING IN AND OUT AND PASSING THROUGH BEFORE THE FUNERAL, THOUGH, A VIEWING OF HIS BODY WILL BEGIN TOMORROW IN SAINT PETER’S BASILICA CHURCH. SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR HENRY MCMASTER HAD THIS TO SAY ABOUT THE POPE’S DEATH, MCMASTER SAYING IN PART, QUOTE, HE LED A LIFE OF HUMILITY, COMPASSION AND SERVICE THAT SET A POWERFUL EXAMPLE FOR ALL. SOUTH CAROLINA SENATOR TIM SCOTT SHARED HIS REACTION YESTERDAY AFTERNOON, SAYING, QUOTE, TODAY I JOINED THE WORLD IN MOURNING THE DEATH OF POPE FRANCIS. HIS FERVENT COMMITMENT, EXCUSE ME, COMMITMENT TO THE FAITH AND VISION FOR THE CATHOLIC CHURCH WAS A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION FOR MILLIONS AROUND THE WORLD. MAY WE HONOR HIS MEMORY BY STRIVING FOR HOPE AND UNITY IN OUR COMMUNITIES. END QUOTE. SOUTH CAROLINA SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM ALSO SHARED HIS THOUGHTS POSTING ON X. POPE FRANCIS WAS A GOOD AND HOLY MAN WHO PRACTICED WHAT HE PREACHED. MAY THE HOLY FATHER REST IN PEACE. WE HAVE EXTENSIVE COVERAGE OF POPE FRANCIS’S LIFE AND LEGACY RIGHT NOW ON WYFF4.COM. BE SURE TO STAY WITH US AS WE LEARN MORE. MEANWHILE, THE FUTURE OF LIMESTONE UNIVERSITY WILL BE DECIDED TODAY. THE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT ANNOUNCED LAST WEEK THAT DUE TO A FINANCIAL CRISIS, THE SCHOOL MAY TRANSITION TO ONLINE OR TO CLOSE ENTIRELY. OUR ISABELLE MARK IS JOINING US LIVE FROM GAFFNEY WITH THE DETAILS THIS MORNING. ISABELLE. HEY, DESTINY. GOOD MORNING. LIMESTONE UNIVERSITY NEEDS $6 MILLION IMMEDIATELY TO KEEP ITS DOORS OPEN UNTIL SEPTEMBER. THAT’S WHEN STUDENT TUITION MONEY WOULD COME IN. NOW, IF IT DOESN’T GET THAT FUNDING, IT COULD FACE TRANSITIONING INTO A FULLY ONLINE FORMAT OR HAVE TO CLOSE DOORS COMPLETELY. THE UNIVERSITY SAYS CLOSE TO 1000 STUDENTS WOULD NO LONGER HAVE A PHYSICAL CAMPUS IF THAT HAPPENED. AND NEARLY 300 FACULTY MEMBERS WOULD FACE LAYOFFS. AGAIN, THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES WILL MEET TODAY TO MAKE A FINAL DECISION ON THE SCHOOL’S FUTURE. THE UNIVERSITY HAS A $150 MILLION ANNUAL IMPACT ON CHEROKEE COUNTY. REPORTING LIVE AT LIMESTONE UNIVERSITY, ISABELLE MARAK WYFF NEWS FOUR. THANKS, ISABELLE. MEANWHILE, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE SENATORS VOTED MONDAY NIGHT TO RECOMMEND TO REMOVE STATE TREASURER CURTIS LOFTIS FOLLOWING A NEARLY TEN HOUR LONG HEARING. IT NEEDED TO PASS A TWO THIRDS VOTE TO KEEP THE PROCESS GOING BY A VOTE OF 33 TO 8. THE RESOLUTION IS ADOPTED. THE HEARING WAS CALLED BY SENATORS AMID LOFTUS’S HANDLING OF A $1.8 BILLION ACCOUNTING ERROR. LOFTUS’S TEAM HAS REPEATEDLY REFERENCED A FORENSIC AUDIT FROM ALIXPARTNERS, WHICH WAS COMPLETED IN JANUARY, THAT SAYS THERE WAS NEVER ANY MISSING MONEY AND NO COVER UP. IT’S NOW SENT OVER TO THE HOUSE, WHERE ANOTHER TWO THIRDS VOTE IS NEEDED TO REMOVE LOFTUS. LOFTUS RELEASED A STATEMENT MONDAY NIGHT SAYING IN PART, QUOTE, I AM NOT SURPRISED BY TODAY’S OUTCOME. WE KNEW THIS PROCESS WOULD BE MORE POLITICAL IN NATURE THAN THE SERIOUS LEGAL HEARING ONE WOULD EXPECT TO OVERTURN A STATEWIDE ELECTION. END QUOTE. 650 IS YOUR TIME. A VIDEO POSTED ON X BY SOUTH CAROLINA REPRESENTATIVE NANCY MACE HAS NOW BEEN VIEWED MORE THAN 6 MILLION TIMES. SHE SAYS THE VIDEO WAS TAKEN WHILE SHE CLAIMS A MAN WAS HARASSING HER AT A MAKEUP STORE. ACCORDING TO MACE, IT HAPPENED LAST WEEK AND IT SEEMS THE ENCOUNTER BEGAN AFTER THE MAN STANDING AT A DISTANCE, CALMLY ASKED REPRESENTATIVE MACE ABOUT HOSTING A TOWN HALL. THE VIDEO DOES NOT SHOW THE START OF THE ENCOUNTER, BUT SHOWS IT TURNING INTO AN ARGUMENT. ABOUT CRAZY YOU ARE AND GET OUT OF MY. GET OUT OF MY FACE. GOODBYE. REPRESENTATIVE NANCY MACE. HIS OFFICE RELEASED A STATEMENT THAT SAYS, QUOTE, BEING A PUBLIC OFFICIAL DOES NOT GIVE ANYONE THE RIGHT TO HARASS THE CONGRESSWOMAN, INVADE HER PERSONAL SPACE, OR MAKE THREATS. JUSTIFYING THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOR IS NOT ONLY UNACCEPTABLE, IT’S DANGEROUS. ALL RIGHT. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS RAMP UP LATER THIS AFTERNOON. WE’RE NOT EXPECTING ANY WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER, BUT SOME OF THE STORMS THAT DO DEVELOP COULD PRODUCE SOME GUSTY WINDS AND ALSO SOME SMALL HAIL. JUST THE TIME OF THE YEAR WE’LL CONTINUE TO SEE THIS WITH ANY STORMS. THE TIMING AGAIN IS MAINLY THIS AFTERNOON WITH THAT DAYTIME HEATING. SO RIGHT NOW WE ARE STARTING TO SEE SOME RAIN AND SOME HEAVIER DOWNPOURS, MAINLY UP TOWARDS WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA, WHILE ALSO SEEING A FEW SHOWERS OFF TOWARDS ASHEVILLE, SEEING SOME HEAVIER RAIN AND THAT SIMILAR FOR CULLOWHEE. NOW AS WE HEAD TOWARDS THIS AFTERNOON, RAIN WILL BE LIKELY FOR EVERYONE, INCLUDING THE UPSTATE. SO AS WE ZOOM IN AGAIN, HEAVIER DOWNPOURS MOVING OVER I-40 AND ALSO ASHEVILLE. WATCH FOR STANDING WATER ON THE ROADWAYS AS WE HEAD THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON. WATCHING THIS MAIN LINE START TO MOVE IN ALONG A COLD FRONT. PEAK HEATING AROUND 3 TO 5 IS WHEN WE PROBABLY COULD SEE THE BIGGEST CHANCE FOR ANY GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL, BUT ALL OF US SEEING SOME HEAVIER DOWNPOURS THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON. NOW LET’S TAKE A QUICK LOOK AT WEATHER. IF YOU ARE TRAVELING. IF YOU ARE HEADING OUT THE DOOR THIS MORNING, WE ARE SEEING AGAIN HEAVY RAIN. MOVE OVER ASHEVILLE NEAR I-40. WATCH FOR STANDING WATER. NO MAJOR ISSUES THOUGH ON THE ROADWAYS AS WE ZOOM OUT AND TRAVEL BACK TOWARDS THE UPSTATE. MOVING OFF TOWARDS HIGHWAY 101. TRAFFIC IS MOVING SLOWER THIS MORNING, BUT 85 AND 385 ARE MOVING JUST FINE. DESTINY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU FOR THAT. VICTORIA, HOW ABOUT THIS? MOULIN ROUGE IS OPENING AT THE PEACE CENTER TONIGHT. THE MUSICAL IS BASED ON THE FILM AND FEATURES FAMILIAR SONGS AND ELABORATE SETS. LIMITED TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE STARTING AT $55. THE SHOW RUNS UNTIL SUNDAY NIGHT. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, THE PEACE CENTER JUST REVEALED ITS BROADWAY LINEUP FOR 2025 AND 2026. YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW ON WYFF4.COM. I WAS GOING TO PRACTICE MY FRENCH ON THE AIR, BUT
‘Be on alert’: Mpox detected in sewage samples in North Carolina, health officials say
Updated: 2:03 PM EDT Apr 22, 2025
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is asking people and providers to be on alert for mpox cases following the detection of mpox particles in multiple sewage samples found through routine wastewater testing. Health officials said there have been two cases of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, in North Carolina and the new wastewater detections were determined to be another type, clade I, not previously found in North Carolina. These detections indicate potential undiagnosed or unreported cases. At this time, the risk to the public remains low.Below is the information provided by health officials: “The mpox virus is primarily spread by prolonged close contact, typically skin-to-skin, often during sexual activity. There are two genetic types of the virus, known as clade I and clade II. The viral particles found in wastewater were determined to be clade I. To date, only four clade I cases have been reported in the U.S. Clade I mpox is responsible for a large outbreak in Central and Eastern Africa, which appears to be spreading mostly through heterosexual contact with some spread to household members, including children.”North Carolina’s detections were found in wastewater samples collected on March 25, March 28 and April 8 from a treatment plant in Greenville, NC. No clade I cases have been reported to date; however, these detections mean there was possibly at least one person with an undiagnosed or unreported clade I mpox infection present or traveling through the Greenville area around the time of these detections.’The detection of clade I mpox virus in wastewater surveillance tells us the virus is potentially here in our state, even though no cases have been reported and confirmed,’ said NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai. ‘We encourage health care providers to be on the lookout for mpox cases and we encourage people who are at higher risk to protect themselves by getting vaccinated.'”NCDHHS requests that all North Carolina health care providers consider mpox in patients with compatible symptoms and ask about any recent international travel. Providers who are treating patients with mpox infections should contact their local health department or the NCDHHS Division of Public Health’s 24/7 epidemiologist on-call number: 919-733-3419.”These recent results were found by the North Carolina Wastewater Monitoring Network, which launched in 2021 to better understand the spread of certain viruses in communities across North Carolina. This network is a collaboration between NCDHHS, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, wastewater utilities and local health departments. Samples are collected routinely from 35 wastewater treatment plants across the state and tested for specific viruses, including SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). People with these viruses shed viral particles in their stool even if they don’t have symptoms. These virus particles are no longer infectious but can still be detected through lab testing.”While wastewater surveillance has become a valuable tool for tracking and responding to viruses, the program is now at risk due to proposed federal funding cuts. Wastewater surveillance funding allows North Carolina to have a crucial early warning system for levels of infections that can help public health officials and health care providers make decisions, such as providing guidance on how to prevent infections.”NC Wastewater Monitoring Network results are routinely shared on the NCDHHS wastewater monitoring dashboard. Testing for mpox is done on samples from 18 of the participating sites and results are shared on the CDC Mpox wastewater dashboard.”If you think you have mpox or have had close contact with someone who has mpox, visit your health care provider or contact your local health department. Symptoms include a rash on any part of the body, like the genitals, hands, feet, chest, face or mouth. The rash can initially look like pimples or blisters and may be painful or itchy. The rash will go through several stages, including scabs, before healing. Some people experience flu-like symptoms before the rash, while others get a rash first followed by other symptoms. In some cases, a rash is the only symptom experienced.”Vaccines are available to protect against mpox infection from both clade types and can reduce the severity of illness if infection does occur. Information about vaccine recommendations and where to find vaccine is available on the NCDHHS mpox page.”
RALEIGH, N.C. —The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is asking people and providers to be on alert for mpox cases following the detection of mpox particles in multiple sewage samples found through routine wastewater testing.
Health officials said there have been two cases of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, in North Carolina and the new wastewater detections were determined to be another type, clade I, not previously found in North Carolina. These detections indicate potential undiagnosed or unreported cases. At this time, the risk to the public remains low.
Below is the information provided by health officials:
“The mpox virus is primarily spread by prolonged close contact, typically skin-to-skin, often during sexual activity. There are two genetic types of the virus, known as clade I and clade II. The viral particles found in wastewater were determined to be clade I. To date, only four clade I cases have been reported in the U.S. Clade I mpox is responsible for a large outbreak in Central and Eastern Africa, which appears to be spreading mostly through heterosexual contact with some spread to household members, including children.”North Carolina’s detections were found in wastewater samples collected on March 25, March 28 and April 8 from a treatment plant in Greenville, NC. No clade I cases have been reported to date; however, these detections mean there was possibly at least one person with an undiagnosed or unreported clade I mpox infection present or traveling through the Greenville area around the time of these detections.’The detection of clade I mpox virus in wastewater surveillance tells us the virus is potentially here in our state, even though no cases have been reported and confirmed,’ said NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai. ‘We encourage health care providers to be on the lookout for mpox cases and we encourage people who are at higher risk to protect themselves by getting vaccinated.’
“NCDHHS requests that all North Carolina health care providers consider mpox in patients with compatible symptoms and ask about any recent international travel. Providers who are treating patients with mpox infections should contact their local health department or the NCDHHS Division of Public Health’s 24/7 epidemiologist on-call number: 919-733-3419.
“These recent results were found by the North Carolina Wastewater Monitoring Network, which launched in 2021 to better understand the spread of certain viruses in communities across North Carolina. This network is a collaboration between NCDHHS, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, wastewater utilities and local health departments. Samples are collected routinely from 35 wastewater treatment plants across the state and tested for specific viruses, including SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). People with these viruses shed viral particles in their stool even if they don’t have symptoms. These virus particles are no longer infectious but can still be detected through lab testing.”While wastewater surveillance has become a valuable tool for tracking and responding to viruses, the program is now at risk due to proposed federal funding cuts. Wastewater surveillance funding allows North Carolina to have a crucial early warning system for levels of infections that can help public health officials and health care providers make decisions, such as providing guidance on how to prevent infections.
“NC Wastewater Monitoring Network results are routinely shared on the NCDHHS wastewater monitoring dashboard. Testing for mpox is done on samples from 18 of the participating sites and results are shared on the CDC Mpox wastewater dashboard.
“If you think you have mpox or have had close contact with someone who has mpox, visit your health care provider or contact your local health department. Symptoms include a rash on any part of the body, like the genitals, hands, feet, chest, face or mouth. The rash can initially look like pimples or blisters and may be painful or itchy. The rash will go through several stages, including scabs, before healing. Some people experience flu-like symptoms before the rash, while others get a rash first followed by other symptoms. In some cases, a rash is the only symptom experienced.
“Vaccines are available to protect against mpox infection from both clade types and can reduce the severity of illness if infection does occur. Information about vaccine recommendations and where to find vaccine is available on the NCDHHS mpox page.”
