FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A “presumptive” case of monkeypox is being investigated in South Florida, state health officials said Sunday.
Health officials in Broward County and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating the case which appears to be related to international travel, the Florida Department of Health in Broward County said in a news release.
The person is in isolation, and local Department of Health officials were notifying people who may have been exposed to the patient, the news release said.
The health agency provided no further details about the case.
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. Monkeypox is rarely identified outside of Africa, but as of Friday, there were 80 confirmed cases worldwide, including at least two in the United States, and another 50 suspected ones.
Most patients only experience fever, body aches, chills, and fatigue. People with more serious illnesses may develop a rash and lesions on the face and hands that can spread to other parts of the body.
There are now more than 70 confirmed cases in Europe, according to a data tracker compiled by a collective of global health researchers, with additional infections found in the United States, Canada, and Australia. More than 50 suspected monkeypox cases are being examined globally but have not yet been confirmed.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert Friday urging doctors and state health departments to be vigilant
Monkeypox is most common in remote parts of Central and West Africa.
The Florida Department of Health said in its news release that the risk of exposure is low since it requires contact with lesions or items that have been contaminated by lesions.
On Sunday during his first public comments on the disease, President Joe Biden said, “It is a concern in that if it were to spread it would be consequential.”
