(Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner/CDC via AP)
NEW YORK (77WABC) — The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is investigating a possible case of Monkeypox in New York City.
The department says the patient is being cared for at NYC Health + Hospitals Bellevue and that all the appropriate isolation protocols are being followed. The Health Department’s Public Health Lab is conducting preliminary tests. If the tests are positive the Health Department says they will be sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmatory testing.
Possible case of monkeypox being investigated in NYC: health officials https://t.co/F3BdHC5AZ1 pic.twitter.com/btwulyELhA
— New York Post (@nypost) May 19, 2022
There are approximately 100 cases of monkeypox reported in 8 countries. The CDC says it is monitoring six Americans identified as having suspected cases. Some of the recent cases are among gay men.
The Department’s epidemiologists will follow up with any individual who may have been in contact with the patient while infectious.
Monkeypox is uncommon in the U.S. There were only two cases last year in the U.S.
European and American health authorities have identified a number of cases of monkeypox this week, a surprising outbreak of an illness that has previously been limited mostly to central and western Africa.
The disease is normally transmitted either from wild animals like rodents and primates or from very close contact with infected people. British officials say most recent cases have been men who have had sex with men — and who had no history of travel to Africa. That suggests the disease is already spreading in the country.
The Health Department says it usually presents as a flu-like illness accompanied by swelling of the lymph nodes and followed by rash on the face and body.
Most people recover in less than a month, however it can be fatal in up to 6% of those diagnosed with monkeypox.
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