A man who recently traveled internationally now has the region’s first case of monkey pox.
King County health officer Dr. Jeff Duchin says this is a ‘presumptive positive’ case, and the patient is cooperating. “We have no evidence of spread within the county,” says Dr. Duchin. “We believe we know everyone he’s been around at a time when he could have spread the infection.”
Monkey pox typically presents with flu-like symptoms and the swelling of lymph nodes followed by a rash on the face and body. But Dr. Duchin says it can easily be mistaken for various sexually-transmitted infections, as it can also begin with a rash in the groin area.
The virus is spread through contact with bodily fluids, so sexual contact is a risk factor.
Dr. Duchin adds that the monkey virus is not airborne, so it is unlikely to cause the kind of outbreak we’ve seen with COVID-19.
