FILE - This 2003 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virions, left, and spherical immature virions, right, obtained from a sample of human skin associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. Israeli authorities said late Saturday, May 21, 2022, they have detected the country's first case of monkeypox in a man who returned from abroad and were looking into other suspected cases. (Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner/CDC via AP)
FILE - This 2003 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virions, left, and spherical immature virions, right, obtained from a sample of human skin associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. Israeli authorities said late Saturday, May 21, 2022, they have detected the country's first case of monkeypox in a man who returned from abroad and were looking into other suspected cases. (Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner/CDC via AP)
Pennsylvania’s first case of the monkeypox virus has been reported in Philadelphia, health officials said Thursday afternoon. The city’s Department of Public Health has identified a Philadelphia resident to be infected based on preliminary testing. Confirmatory monkeypox testing at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is pending.
As of Thursday, there have been 19 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the U.S. Worldwide, there are more than 250 cases, and there has been one death associated with this outbreak.
“The threat to Philadelphians from monkeypox is extremely low,” said Health Department Acute Communicable Disease Program Manager Dana Perella in a statement. “Monkeypox is much less contagious than COVID-19 and is containable particularly when prompt care is sought for symptoms.”
The virus that causes the disease — which is related to smallpox — is transmitted through close contact with broken skin, or through the eyes, nose, and mouth. Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease, but it can spread through intimate contact.
Local infectious disease experts say the new outbreak is noteworthy because of the number of cases across multiple continents at once over a relatively short time period, however, the disease is less contagious than COVID-19, since it does not spread through the air, and vaccines and therapeutics are available to treat the disease after exposure.
Symptoms typically arise about 12 days after exposure, but can present any time between four and 21 days. The virus can cause fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, and swollen lymph nodes. The most distinguishable symptom is a blistering rash.
To protect the resident’s privacy, the Philadelphia health department said it will not be confirming any information about them. The infected resident is currently working with the health department to identify any contacts that may have been exposed, who will be contacted directly.
Philadelphia’s health department “strongly recommends that anyone who is experiencing symptoms of an unexplained rash on their face, palms, arms, legs, genitals, or perianal region that may be accompanied by flu-like illness should contact their regular healthcare provider as soon as possible.”
