New York State health officials said late Friday that a New Yorker tested positive for the virus that causes monkeypox, according to the AP.
Why it matters: This is the first confirmed case of monkeypox in the state since many countries recently reported infections from the virus, which was previously rare outside of West and Central Africa.
- It is also the second confirmed monkeypox infection in the United States this year, as Massachusetts announced the first on Wednesday.
The unidentified patient is being treated and isolated while the state determines how the person was infected and reaches out to people who may have been in contact with him, according to the AP.
Overall picture: Many other countries have reported a number of confirmed and possible cases this week, including Australia, Canada, Belgium, Italy, London and Northern Ireland, Portugal and Spain.
- Associated with smallpox, monkeypox has two main types: a West African log with a mortality rate of about 1% and a Congo Basin (Central African) log with a mortality rate of about 10%, said Eileen Drage O’Reilly of Axios.
- The current circulating virus strain appears to be the milder West African type, often beginning with flu-like symptoms and swollen lymph nodes, which progresses to a blistering rash.
- The smallpox vaccine is thought to be effective against monkeypox.
The CDC warned on Friday that doctors and public health services in the United States should look for possible cases, in particular to look for the characteristic rash associated with the virus.
Go deeper: What we know about the new outbreak of monkeypox
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