Arizona Identifies First Suspected Monkeypox Case

PHOENIX — Arizona state and Maricopa County health officials have identified the state's first suspected case of monkeypox as cases continue to appear across the United States and Europe.

Tests performed at the Arizona State Public Health Laboratory confirmed a presumptive positive result, Maricopa County health officials said. Samples have been sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation.

The patient is a man in his late 30s who is recovering in isolation, the county health department said in a news release Tuesday.

Monkeypox is a viral illness that typically spreads through skin-to-skin contact, though it can also spread during prolonged, face-to-face contact through breathing secretions. While monkeypox is endemic in some countries, cases are rare in the United States. However, several countries — including the United States — have seen cases in recent weeks.

“It is important to remember that Monkeypox remains a rare disease here in the United States and in Maricopa County,” Dr. Rebecca Sunenshine, medical director for disease control at the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, said in a statement.

Don Herrington, interim director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, said the state is working closely with local health departments throughout Arizona to identify and respond to potential cases.

“It’s important to note that monkeypox is highly controllable through simple precautions," he said.

The best way to prevent spreading monkeypox and other viruses is to wash hands after touching another person, wearing a mask in a crowded indoor space and staying home if a person feels sick with fever or respiratory symptoms. Never touch a rash or skin lesions on another person.

The World Health Organization said Sunday that more than two dozen countries that haven't previously identified monkeypox cases reported 780 cases — a jump of more than 200 percent in cases since late May, The Associated Press reported. No monkeypox deaths outside of Africa have yet been identified.

The U.N. health agency said most cases in Europe and elsewhere have been spotted in sexual health clinics and "have involved mainly, but not exclusively, men who have sex with men."

Health officials stress that anyone can get monkeypox. A heterosexual woman was among the U.S. cases under investigation, officials said.

WHO said the sudden monkeypox cases across numerous countries "suggests that there might have been undetected transmission for some unknown duration of time followed by recent amplifier events." Last month, a leading adviser to WHO linked the recent European outbreak and beyond to sex at two recent raves in Spain and Belgium.

Genetic analysis of recent monkeypox cases suggests there are two distinct strains in the U.S., health officials said Friday. While many U.S. cases were caused by the same strain as Europe's recent cases, a few samples indicated a different strain, federal health officials said. Each strain had been seen in U.S. cases last year, before the recent international outbreak.

Further study of many more patients will be needed to determine how long monkeypox has been circulating in the U.S. and elsewhere, said Jennifer McQuiston of the CDC.

"I think it's certainly possible that there could have been monkeypox cases in the United States that went under the radar previously, but not to any great degree," she told reporters Friday. However, she added, "there could be community level transmission that is happening" in parts of U.S. where the virus has not yet been identified.

Symptoms of Monkeypox include: fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and exhaustion. A rash develops up to three days (or sometimes longer) after a fever, often beginning on the face and then spreading to other parts of the body. Patients can see an incubation period (time from infection to symptoms) of usually seven to 14 days, but can range from five to 21 days. The illness typically lasts two to four weeks.

As of Friday, at least 20 cases were recorded across 11 states, including Massachusetts, California, Florida, New York, Utah, Colorado and Washington state.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.