Monkeypox, The Rare Disease Found Primarily In Africa, Now In Florida

The Florida Department of Health is looking into a possible case of monkeypox.

In a statement on Sunday, the agency announced that health officials were investigating a “presumptive” case of the virus in Broward County.

The case is related to international travel, the Health Department said, and the infected person, who was not identified, is in quarantine.

State health officials in Broward County are also investigating who else may have been in contact with the infected person, and to offer them treatment.

As of the moment, Broward County health staff have not identified any other cases.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued a warning about monkeypox showing up in the U.S. on May 14. CNN reported on Friday that the CDC is surveilling at least six cases of the virus.

The Florida Department of Health noted in its statement that infection from monkeypox requires prolonged, face-to-face contact, or directo contact with an infected person’s skin lesions, or indirect contact with those lesions through other contaminated courses, such as clothing.

The department also pointed out that there is likely “cross-protection” against monkeypox for individuals who have received a smallpox vaccine.

According to the CDC, monkeypox is a “rare but potentially serious viral illness that typically begins with flu-like illness. Its symptoms include: fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion.

Within one to three days after the fever appears, the infected person will develop a rash that often begins on the face then spreads to other parts of the body. The lesions go through several stages before becoming scabs and falling off.

The illness typically lasts between two and four weeks.

But in Africa, monkeypox has a recorded fatality rate in up to 10 percent of those who contract the disease.

In comparison, about 1 percent of people who contract COVID-19 die from the virus.

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