Georgia health officials investigating possible monkeypox case in metro Atlanta
CDC officials investigating possible case of monkeypox virus in metro Atlanta
Georgia health officials have reported that a man in the metro-Atlanta area has tested positive for the orthopox virus and a sample from the man is being tested at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lab. CDC officials say that they are investigating a total of 17 confirmed U.S. monkeypox cases across 9 states.
ATLANTA - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is testing a possible case of the monkeypox virus in Georgia.
The Georgia Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday a case of orthopoxvirus in Atlanta, which the CDC is working to confirm is the monkeypox virus.
According to health officials, the person involved is a metro Atlanta man with a history of international travel.
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The Georgia DPH will be tracing any contacts the individual has had and will continue to monitor his condition.
CDC officials want Americans to be aware of the monkeypox virus and outbreak
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said five U.S. monkeypox cases were found in men who had all traveled internationally. Officials say they found cases in Florida, Massachusetts, New York City, and Utah. Health officials say it is not clear how monkeypox is spreading and the rash closely resembles a sexually transmitted disease.
What is monkeypox?
Monkeypox is a virus that originates in wild animals like rodents and primates, and occasionally jumps to people. Most human cases have been in central and west Africa, where the disease is endemic.
The illness was first identified by scientists in 1958 when there were two outbreaks of a "pox-like" disease in research monkeys — thus the name monkeypox. The first known human infection was in 1970, in a 9-year-old boy in a remote part of Congo.
What are the symptoms of monkeypox and how is it treated?
Monkeypox belongs to the same virus family as smallpox but causes milder symptoms.
Most patients only experience fever, body aches, chills and fatigue. People with more serious illness may develop a rash and lesions on the face and hands that can spread to other parts of the body.
The incubation period is from about five days to three weeks. Most people recover within about two to four weeks without needing to be hospitalized.
Monkeypox can be fatal for up to one in 10 people and is thought to be more severe in children.
People exposed to the virus are often given one of several smallpox vaccines, which have been shown to be effective against monkeypox. Anti-viral drugs are also being developed.
On Thursday, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control recommended all suspected cases be isolated and that high-risk contacts be offered the smallpox vaccine.
How many cases of monkeypox are there typically?
The World Health Organization estimates there are thousands of monkeypox infections in about a dozen African countries every year. Most are in Congo, which reports about 6,000 cases annually, and Nigeria, with about 3,000 cases a year.
Patchy health monitoring systems mean many infected people are likely missed, experts say.
Isolated cases of monkeypox are occasionally spotted outside Africa, including in the U.S. and Britain. The cases are typically associated with travel to Africa or contact with animals from areas where the disease is more common.
In 2003, 47 people in six U.S. states had confirmed or probable cases. They caught the virus from pet prairie dogs that been housed near imported small mammals from Ghana.
What's different about the new monkeypox cases?
It’s the first time monkeypox appears to be spreading among people who didn’t travel to Africa. Most of the cases involve men who have had sex with men.
In Europe, infections have been reported in Britain, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
Britain’s Health Security Agency said its cases are not all connected, suggesting that there are multiple chains of transmission happening. The infections in Portugal were picked up at a sexual health clinic, where the men sought help for lesions on their genitals.
On Wednesday, U.S. officials reported a case of monkeypox in a man who had recently traveled to Canada. The Public Health Agency of Canada also confirmed two cases related to that positive test. Health officials in Quebec earlier said they suspected 17 cases in the Montreal area.
According to the CDC, there were 18 known cases of monkeypox or orthopox in the United States as of Tuesday.