First monkeypox case confirmed in U.S. this year [Video]

• The first case of monkeypox in the U.S. this year has been confirmed in Massachusetts.
• According to the CDC, monkeypox is a viral illness that usually starts with flu-like symptoms and progresses with rashes on the face and body.
• Medical professionals are urged to look out for patients with rash illnesses similar to monkeypox.

A Massachusetts case has been confirmed to be the first case of monkeypox to be reported in the U.S. this year.

State health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are currently investigating the case.

The patient, who recently traveled to Canada, is hospitalized and in “good condition,” according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. They are now doing contact tracing, but the department emphasized that the case poses no risk to the public.

Massachusetts officials describe monkeypox as “a rare but potentially serious viral illness” that generally begins with flu-like symptoms and the swelling of lymph nodes. When the infection progresses, rashes will appear on the body and face, which typically lasts two to four weeks.

According to the CDC, four decades had passed without a single confirmed case of mokeypox until it reemerged in Nigeria in 2017. Around 450 cases in Nigeria have been reported since then, as well as at least eight more in other countries.

Two cases were reported in the U.S. last year, one each in Maryland and Texas, in people who had recently traveled to Nigeria.

During the last two weeks, more cases have been reported globally, including in Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The CDC said that it is still unclear how those patients were exposed to monkeypox, but the agency noted that cases include individuals who self-identify as men who have sex with men.

Inger Damon, director of CDC’s division of high-consequence pathogens and pathology, explained, “Many of these global reports of monkeypox cases are occurring within sexual networks. However, health-care providers should be alert to any rash that has features typical of monkeypox.”

Medical professionals are urged to look out for patients with symptoms consistent with monkeypox, such as rashes, regardless of their sexual orientation or travel activity.

Patients suspected of having the virus should be isolated, and staff or caretakers should wear appropriate personal protective equipment around them.

Damon also encouraged the public “to contact their health-care provider if they have a new rash and are concerned about monkeypox.”

According to the CDC, the virus can be spread through contact with body fluids or sores of a person with monkeypox, shared items that have been contaminated with the virus, or respiratory droplets in a close setting, such as the same household.

The monkeypox virus can be killed by common household disinfectants.

Source: CNBC