D.C. has confirmed the first positive case of Orthopox – a family of viruses which includes Monkeypox – in a District resident who recently traveled to Europe, officials said.
The DC Public Health Lab confirmed the case on Saturday, and said collected samples have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to confirm Monkeypox.
It did not say how long that confirmation could take.
“The patient is currently isolating and does not pose a risk to the public. DC Health is identifying and monitoring close contacts, however, at this time no additional cases have been identified in the District,” the health lab said in a statement.
They went on to add: “Monkeypox is a rare but potentially serious viral illness that can be transmitted from person to person through direct contact with body fluid or monkeypox lesions. Less commonly, transmission can occur through respiratory droplets from prolonged face-to-face contact and from contaminated materials such as bedding or clothing.”
As of June 3, the CDC said it had confirmed 24 cases of Monkeypox in the U.S.
On May 26, a woman who lives in Northern Virginia and recently traveled to “an African country where the disease is known to occur” was found to have Monkeypox, the Virginia Department of Health said in a statement.
CNBC reporter Spencer Kimball wrote Saturday that “the Biden administration has distributed 1,200 monkeypox vaccine doses for people who have had high-risk exposures to the virus, part of a nationwide public health response to stamp out the disease before it causes a major outbreak.”
Read more about the virus here.
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