PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) – The Philadelphia Ministry of Public Health said Friday that a suspected case of monkeypox in a city resident has already been confirmed.
The probable case was first announced on Thursday afternoon, but CDC tests have since confirmed it.
The health department said the monkeypox virus has a much longer incubation period, which helps track and limit contact.
RELATED: What is monkeypox? What to know about the virus, symptoms, spread“Usually someone will develop symptoms between five and 21 days from the time they are exposed,” said Dana Perela, an acute infectious disease manager at the Philadelphia Health Department.
Perela said there is currently a vaccine to reduce the severity of the disease and antiviral treatment for patients with monkeypox.
“I believe that residents and visitors need to feel safe to do all the fun things Philadelphia has to offer, with the right precautions,” she said.
City officials are working with the CDC to investigate how the person was exposed and whether they may have exposed someone else after becoming infected.
The current outbreak was first confirmed to a British resident on May 6. Since then, cases have been confirmed in 29 other non-endemic countries, including the United States. The CDC reports that there are 23 confirmed cases in 11 states. There is only one death worldwide related to this outbreak.
Officials strongly recommend that anyone experiencing symptoms of an unexplained rash on the face, palms, hands, feet, genitals or perianal area, which may be accompanied by influenza-like illness, should contact their regular healthcare provider as soon as possible. .
Monkeypox is spread through close, personal contact. Initial symptoms usually include fever, fatigue, headache and swollen lymph nodes. The rash often starts on the face and then appears on the palms, hands, feet and other parts of the body. Some recent cases begin with a rash on the genitals or perianal area without any other initial symptoms. In a week or two, the rash changes from small, flat spots to small blisters that look like chickenpox, and then to larger blisters. They can take several weeks to remove. Once the scabs fall, the person is no longer infected.
RELATED: Monkeypox will not become a pandemic, but there are many unknowns
Monkeypox is a viral disease commonly found in Central and West Africa. Monkeypox was first discovered in laboratory monkeys in 1958. Blood tests on animals in Africa later found evidence of monkeypox infection in several African rodents. In 1970, monkeypox was first reported in humans.
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