The first case of severe mpox (formerly monkeypox) has been identified in New York City, according to an advisory issued by the NYC Health Department.

One resident has tested positive for mpox clade I, one of the two main genetic groups (clades) of the mpox virus, which causes the illness.

“Clade I causes more severe symptoms and can be life-threatening,” Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, told Fox News Digital. “It spreads via direct contact or sex, and kissing, and very close respiratory droplets, but not over longer distances by respiratory spread.”

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Clade II was the strain that caused a 2022 global outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Survival rates for this type are more than 99.9%.

Clade I, which was responsible for the 2024 outbreak in the DRC and Africa, is known to cause more severe illness and deaths. 

The New York City patient recently traveled out of the country, the advisory states. “This appears to have come here from travel and has not spread locally,” Siegel noted.

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There is no known local transmission of mpox clade I in New York City and the risk remains low for local residents, according to NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin.

“The NYC Health Department recommends that New Yorkers who are at risk for mpox receive and complete the two-dose vaccine series that works to prevent mpox,” he said in a statement.

To help prevent transmission, the CDC recommends vaccination for men who are gay, bisexual or have sex with men, are age 18 or older, and have other specific risks. Those who plan to travel to areas where clade I mpox is spreading should also seek the vaccine.

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People who may have been in close contact with an infected person should get the vaccine within 14 days.

As with other viral infections, those who are immunocompromised or very young are at the greatest risk of severe infection.

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Vaccination can help reduce the chances of infection and also makes symptoms less severe, according to experts. The two-dose JYNNEOS vaccine is the most common type of protection. Those who have had mpox do not need to be vaccinated.

Mpox symptoms include a sometimes painful, blistery rash on various parts of the body, fever, chills, exhaustion, muscle aches, headache, swollen lymph nodes and respiratory symptoms, according to the CDC. These symptoms usually emerge one to three weeks after exposure.

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In rare cases, mpox can lead to eye infections, severe rash, painful skin lesions and neurological problems.

Treatment for mpox involves supportive care to manage symptoms. In severe cases, patients may receive TPOXX (tecovirimat), an antiviral medication used to treat infections caused by viruses related to smallpox, including mpox, Siegel noted.

A woman seeking emergency care for severe abdominal pain recently shared her frustration on social media with the long wait times at a Canadian hospital.

Amanda Gushue, 37, first visited her primary care physician — who sent her to the emergency department (ED) with a swollen appendix.

After waiting for two hours in triage, she was sent to the waiting room — where she was shocked to see that it could be anywhere from five to 15 hours before she could see a doctor or nurse.  

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She ultimately waited another 10 to 12 hours before she was seen.

“There were probably about 150 seats, and they were all full,” Gushue, a resident of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, told Fox News Digital. “This is what we deal with when we go to the hospital on a regular basis — you’re looking at spending a full day there.”

Gushue shared that one elderly woman came in with a head wound, “bleeding profusely,” and had to wait for two hours before she was seen.

Gushue said she attributes the long wait times to a scarcity of doctors. “We have tons of nurses, but no doctors.”

Even after she was admitted, Gushue claimed she received sub-par care and was not given sufficient privacy.

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Canada has a universal healthcare system that is funded through taxes, according to the government’s website.

Eligible residents of a province or territory can apply for public health insurance to access free healthcare services, the website states.

“I would rather pay for my healthcare at this point and get treated fairly,” Gushue said.

“The healthcare system is overworked right now, and these doctors are probably exhausted,” she said, expressing her point of view. “They’re working around the clock, and then after a 16- or 17-hour shift, you get a cranky doctor.”

Gushue was ultimately admitted. She had her appendix removed recently. 

She is now recovering and said she “feels great.”

“I would rather pay for my healthcare at this point and get treated fairly.”

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In 2024-2025, there were more than 16.1 million unscheduled emergency department visits in Canada’s hospitals, an increase from about 15.5 million the year before, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).

Among those patients who were admitted into the hospital from the emergency department, nine out of 10 of the ED visits were completed within 48.5 hours, the above source stated. For those who were not admitted, nine out of 10 were completed within around eight hours.

Median wait times vary widely by province, CIHI stated.

Some of the main factors contributing to the extended wait times include staff and bed shortages, hospital flow issues (due to lack of primary care access), and overcrowding that leads to system stress, according to the Canadian Medical Association.

Dr. Warren Thirsk, an emergency room doctor in Edmonton, recently shared with the Calgary Journal that he sometimes sees more than 100 people in the waiting room of his hospital, which only has 30 chairs.

“People who can stand, stand. Some are on the ground, and we’re hoping they’re alive,” he said. “And you walk by this carnage, and then you start your day.”

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The doctor added that some patients wait all night to receive care. “What used to be a mass casualty event is now the new norm,” he said, per the report.

Another ED physician, Dr. Michael Howlett, who is president of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, also shared his concerns about the situation.

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“I’ve worked in emergency departments since 1987, and it’s by far the worst it’s ever been. It’s not even close,” he told CityNews, a Canadian news outlet. 

“We’ve got people dying in waiting rooms because we don’t have a place to put them,” he went on. “People [are] being resuscitated on an ambulance stretcher or a floor. Those things have happened.”

In January, Alberta’s minister of hospitals announced an investigation into the death of a 44-year-old man who died after waiting nearly eight hours in an Edmonton emergency department with chest pain, according to local reports. 

A system review has since been completed by Acute Care Alberta, identifying emergency department overcrowding and triage challenges. The review issued multiple recommendations to prevent similar incidents, though a formal investigation into the death remains ongoing.

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The government also announced new triage liaison physician roles in major hospitals, as physicians report continued overcrowding and capacity issues.

Fox News Digital reached out to Nova Scotia Health and Canada Health requesting comment.

For many people, sagging jowls — loose skin that develops along the lower cheeks and jawline — are one of the first unexpected signs of aging.

Dr. Shereene Idriss, a board-certified dermatologist and founder of Idriss Dermatology in New York City, spoke to Fox News Digital about the best practices for managing the downward “drag.”

To understand why jowls form and how to treat them, Idriss suggests visualizing the face as a piece of furniture.

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“I like to explain facial aging using a couch analogy: The bones are the frame, the fat and muscle are the cushions, and the skin is the fabric,” she said.

When a person notices the early stages of “jowling,” it is rarely just a skin (“fabric”) issue. Instead, it is typically a combination of loss of structural support and fat shifting downward with gravity, according to Idriss.

As the frame of the “couch” changes and the cushions compress, the fabric has no choice but to “naturally begin to drape differently,” she said.

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Even so, it’s never too late for non-invasive treatments, according to the doctor.

The key to success is a multi-layered strategy rather than a “miracle” fix, she said.

“It often feels like it happened overnight, but it’s really the accumulation of years of collagen loss and tissue movement.”

While the market is saturated with jawline sculpting gadgets, Idriss urges patients to manage their expectations when experimenting with these. 

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Facial rollers and massage may move lymphatic fluid to temporarily reduce puffiness, but they cannot eliminate true jowling, she said.

Idriss advises against getting buccal fat removal, a popular cosmetic surgical procedure that involves removing the natural fat pads in the cheeks to create a more contoured, hollowed look.

For many people, removing that fat can actually “accelerate [the formation of] jowls and age you faster,” she warned, noting that the goal should be to preserve the “cushions” of the face, not discard them.

Surgical options like facelifts have limitations because, according to Idriss, “a facelift repositions tissue and tightens skin, but it doesn’t rebuild the deeper structural changes that happen with aging.” 

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Some patients may feel their reflection changes almost overnight, Idriss noted, pointing out that there are specific “aging peaks,” including a scientifically documented shift in the mid-40s.

“That moment often feels like it happened overnight, but it’s really the accumulation of years of collagen loss and tissue movement,” the doctor said.

For individuals in their 20s or 30s, the focus should be on “maintaining the couch before the cushions start sinking.” 

This involves protecting collagen by consistently applying sunscreen, using retinoids (vitamin A-derived compounds that can help improve skin cell turnover and stimulate collagen production), and managing inflammation, according to Idriss.

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However, she noted, jowls are not a result of skincare failure. “It is quite literally your bone structure,” Idriss said.

The objective, according to the expert, is to address the root cause of the “drape” rather than chasing a fleeting trend. “Less is usually more — overtreating can create unnatural results.”