PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The New Jersey Department of Health said Monday that officials have reported the state’s first probable case of monkeypox.
The state’s Public Health and Environmental Laboratories used a PCR test and found orthopoxvirus on Saturday in a person from North Jersey. The CDC will conduct a test to confirm the monkeypox virus, the Department of Health said.
Health officials have advised the person to isolate at home, and a local health department is working with them to contact-trace anyone who might have been exposed to them.
The City of Philadelphia has had two probable cases of monkeypox within the last month. The CDC said that as of Monday afternoon, there were 111 cases nationwide in 20 states and the District of Columbia, not including the case in New Jersey.
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The World Health Organization is planning to have an emergency meeting this week to determine if the outbreak should be considered a global health emergency.
State officials said in a statement that monkeypox “can spread through close prolonged contact with an infected person or animal. This might include coming into contact with skin lesions, or body fluids, sharing clothes or other materials that have been used by someone who is infectious, or inhaling respiratory droplets during prolonged face-to-face contact.”
According to the CDC, monkeypox symptoms are similar but less powerful than smallpox symptoms, and they can start with fever, headache, muscle aches, and exhaustion one to two weeks after infection.
New Jersey health officials said that people should look for flu-like symptoms, the swelling of lymph nodes, and a rash on their face and body. People should reach out to their health care provider and check for monkeypox if they discover those symptoms.
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