The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control has confirmed two cases of monkeypox. One was a person in the Midlands region and another person in the Lowcountry region. State Epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell in a DHEC media release said, infections in South Carolina were expected as a part of the larger international outbreak, which is why DHEC has been planning a response for weeks.
Dr. Bell also said, monkeypox doesn’t spread easily and the risk to the general population remains low at this time. Monkeypox is a rare but potentially serious viral illness. It can be spread through prolonged face-to-face contact, skin-to-skin contact including sexual contact, and through contaminated materials such as clothing or linens of an infected person.