Massachusetts identifies first case of monkeypox virus in the United States in 2022

(Reuters) – The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said on Wednesday it has confirmed one case of monkeypox in a man who recently traveled to Canada.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said its labs confirmed monkeypox on Wednesday afternoon.

The government agency said it is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and relevant local health boards to implement contact tracing, adding that “the case poses no danger to the public, and the individual is in hospital and in good condition.”

Public Health Canada late Wednesday issued a statement saying it is aware of monkeypox cases in Europe and is closely monitoring the current situation, adding that no cases have been reported at this time.

Monkeypox, which occurs mostly in West and Central Africa, is a rare viral infection similar to human smallpox, although milder. It was first recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the 1970s. The number of cases in West Africa has increased in the past decade.

Symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash that begins on the face and spreads to the rest of the body.

Massachusetts said the virus does not spread easily between people, but transmission can occur through contact with bodily fluids, monkeypox sores, items such as bedding or clothing that have been contaminated with fluid or sores, or through respiratory droplets after a prolonged face-to-face period. . Contact face.

She said no cases of monkeypox had previously been identified in the United States this year. Texas and Maryland both reported a case in 2021 of people who had recently traveled to Nigeria.

The CDC also said it has been tracking multiple groups of monkeypox reported in several countries including Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom, over the past two weeks.

A few cases of monkeypox have recently been reported or suspected in the United Kingdom, Portugal and Spain.

Earlier on Wednesday, Portuguese authorities said they had identified five cases and Spain’s health services said they were testing 23 possible cases after Britain put Europe on alert for the virus.

European health authorities have been monitoring any outbreaks of the disease since Britain reported its first case on May 7 and have found six more cases in the country since then.

(Reporting by Dina Beasley in Los Angeles.) Additional reporting by Steve Shearer in Ottawa and Gopi Babu in Bengaluru

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