Washington D.C. confirms first case of Monkeypox

Washington D.C. has reported its first case of what may very well be Monkeypox, District well being officers confirmed over the weekend.

The D.C. Public Well being Lab stated in a press launch Sunday {that a} Beltway resident who just lately traveled to Europe had examined optimistic for orthopoxvirus, a genus of viruses that encompasses smallpox, cowpox, horsepox, camelpox, and monkeypox. The assertion added that the lab had despatched collected samples to the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention to substantiate if the affected person contracted monkeypox particularly.

HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE GLOBAL MONKEYPOX OUTBREAK

“The affected person is at the moment isolating and doesn’t pose a threat to the general public. DC Well being is figuring out and monitoring shut contacts. Nonetheless, presently no extra circumstances have been recognized within the districts,” the discharge stated.

Monkeypox is uncommon and is seldom seen outdoors of central and west Africa, the place it’s endemic. The primary signs to return on embody fever, muscle aches, and swollen lymph nodes, turning into seen rashes and lesions that unfold from the top to different elements of the physique.

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Practically 100 circumstances have been detected in 12 international locations, together with the U.S., the UK, Spain, Belgium, France, Canada, and Australia since early Could. The CDC has recognized 24 monkeypox circumstances within the U.S.

“Monkeypox is a uncommon however doubtlessly critical viral sickness that may be transmitted from individual to individual by direct contact with physique fluid or monkeypox lesions,” D.C. Well being defined. “Much less generally, transmission can happen by respiratory droplets from extended face-to-face contact and from contaminated supplies equivalent to bedding or clothes.”