United States confirms first case of monkeypox

Texas: The US' Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed a single case of monkeypox virus infection in an adult male with recent travel to Canada, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts said in a press release.

According to the release, the initial testing was completed on late Tuesday at the State Public Health Laboratory in Jamaica Plain while the confirmatory testing was completed at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Currently, the Department of Public Health is closely working with the CDC, relevant local boards of health, and the patient's health care providers in order to identify the individuals who may have contacted the patient while he was infectious.

According to the release, the case poses no risk to the public, and the individual is hospitalized and in good condition.

"Monkeypox is a rare but potentially serious viral illness that typically begins with flu-like illness and swelling of the lymph nodes and progresses to a rash on the face and body. Most infections last 2-to-4 weeks.

In parts of central and west Africa where monkeypox occurs, people can be exposed through bites or scratches from rodents and small mammals, preparing wild game, or having contact with an infected animal or possibly animal products," the statement reads.

This virus does not spread easily between people but transmission can occour through the contact with the body fluids, monkeypox sores, items that have been contaminated with fluids or sores (clothing, bedding, etc.), or through respiratory droplets following prolonged face-to-face contact.