The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), working with Johnson County, has identified the first presumptive positive case of monkeypox in Kansas based on testing at the KDHE Laboratories.
The patient is an adult resident in Johnson County who recently traveled out of state. To protect the individual’s privacy, no additional information will be shared at this time. The patient is working with KDHE to identify contacts who may have been exposed.
“The risk of monkeypox spreading in Kansas remains low,” Janet Stanek, Secretary of KDHE, said. “If you are experiencing symptoms of monkeypox illness, it’s important to stay home and contact your health care provider as soon as possible to avoid spreading the disease to others.”
The KDHE says in typical cases, a person may experience symptoms including fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion followed by the appearance of a rash that can look like pimples or blisters that may appear on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body like hands, feet, chest, or genitals.
They add it is important to note that not all cases will show symptoms before the onset of a rash and strongly recommend anyone experiencing symptoms of a monkeypox-like rash with other risk factors contact their health care provider as soon as possible. Risk factors for monkeypox infection include the following scenarios within 21 days of first symptom onset:
•Contact with a person or people with a similar appearing rash or who received a diagnosis of confirmed or probable monkeypox, OR
•Close or intimate in-person contact with individuals in a social network experiencing monkeypox activity including meeting partners through an online website, digital app or social event, OR
•Recent travel outside the US to a country with confirmed cases of monkeypox or where monkeypox virus is endemic, OR
•Contact with a dead or live wild animal or exotic pet that is an African endemic species or used a product derived from such animals (game meat, creams, lotions, powders, etc.)