July 02, 2022, 02:27 am Updated 22 min ago
By: News 12 Staff
The Suffolk County Health Department has announced the first confirmed case of monkeypox on Long Island.
The individual, who was seen by a local health professional, is following isolation protocols at home.
Suffolk Health officials are communicating with the individual and will contact people who may have been exposed. The case is one of 96 current confirmed cases of orthopoxvirus in New York State.
“Although the current risk to the general public is low, we urge the public, as well as health care providers in Suffolk County, to be aware that this rare virus has been detected in the region and to know the signs and symptoms and mode of transmission of the simian virus smallpox,” Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott said.
Dr. Bruce Hirsch, an infectious disease specialist at Northwell Health, says more than 90 percent of people will have a “self-limiting infection.” He says patients will most likely have flu-like symptoms, swollen lymph nodes and some skin irritations on certain parts of the body.
Doctors say monkeypox is fatal in rare cases.
There are currently no confirmed cases of monkeypox in Nassau County.
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