SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KNX) – Health officials in Sacramento County are investigating California’s first suspected case of monkeypox.
The patient recently traveled to Europe and is now in isolation, according to Public Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye. She added the person is not in contact with other people.
The patient did test positive for orthopox virus and is waiting for confirmation for monkeypox pending CDC testing, according to the California Department of Public Health.
“…the California Department of Public Health is working quickly with local and federal health officials to ensure appropriate care and response, including contact tracing and post-exposure prevention for close contacts,” California State Epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan said.
Health officials said the current risk of monkeypox to the general public is low.
Dr. George Rutherford of UC San Francisco told KNX that people should consider monkeypox as “a relatively minor illness
“While it can be severe, it’s a relatively minor illness,” he said. “I mean you do get pustules like smallpox. If there were smallpox around, it would be complicated to sort it all out. But there isn’t, so this a fairly straightforward diagnosis…so it can be confirmed in the laboratory.”
Only a handful of cases were reported in the U.S., Canada and Australia, according to NBC News. Meanwhile, there were 80 new cases reported across nine European countries.
The CDC says symptoms of monkeypox are “similar to but milder than” smallpox symptoms. The illness begins with a fever, chills, aches, swollen lymph and exhaustion.
“Within 1 to 3 days (sometimes longer) after the appearance of fever, the patient develops a rash, often beginning on the face then spreading to other parts of the body,” the CDC said.
For more information regarding monkeypox, click here.
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