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Virginia public health officials said Thursday the first suspected positive case of monkeypox in a Northern Virginia woman who recently traveled to Africa.
The Virginia case is among nine identified in seven states, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters Thursday morning. The state lab identified the case, and the Virginia Department of Health has been awaiting confirmation from the CDC since Thursday afternoon.
The patient was not infected during the trip, did not need to be hospitalized and is in isolation at home, government officials said. The health department has established her close contacts and is monitoring them.
U.S. Health Commissioner Colin M. Green stressed that despite recent growth in the country, monkeypox is a very rare disease in the United States and a Virginia resident who tested positive does not pose a risk to public health.
“Transmission requires close contact with someone with symptomatic monkeypox, and the virus has not shown its ability to spread rapidly in the general population,” he said.
What is monkeypox, the rare virus that is now confirmed in the United States and Europe?
Last week, the health department advised Virginia health care providers to monitor for cases of monkeypox and report them immediately to local health authorities.
Monkeypox is a rare but potentially serious viral disease that usually begins with flu-like symptoms and swollen lymph nodes and progresses to a rash on the face and body, the state said in a statement. Symptoms usually appear seven to 14 days after exposure and usually clear up within two to four weeks.
Recent cases are the first to be identified in the United States this year. Last year, Maryland and Texas reported a case of people who recently visited Nigeria, Virginia officials said.
This year, cases have also been found in Massachusetts, Florida, Utah, New York, Washington and California.
As monkeypox cases increase in Europe and other parts of the globe, health authorities are concerned about the unusual growth. (Video: Alexa Juliana Ard, Meryl Cornfield / Washington Post)
“We have to assume that there is some spread in the community, but there is active follow-up of contacts that is happening now to find out if and how these cases may have been in contact with each other or with others in other countries.” CDC Director Rochelle Valensky said on Thursday.
CDC monkey measles warning calls for “enhanced precautions” when traveling
The first case of monkeypox in the United States this year was identified last week in Massachusetts in a resident who recently traveled to Canada. Unusual growth globally is grouped in Europe, as well as in the United States and Canada, according to the World Health Organization.
Fenit Nirappil contributed to this report.
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