2nd Suspected Monkeypox Case Reported In Florida

BROWARD COUNTY, FL — A second presumptive case of monkeypox has been detected in Broward County, Florida health officials reported Monday.

The case comes after news of Florida's first suspected case, also in Broward County, was made public Sunday. Authorities are working to notify close contacts of the second patient, according to a news release from the Florida Department of Health.

“The person is isolated, and the risk of exposure remains low,” the news release said.

The first recent case of monkeypox in the U.S. was confirmed Wednesday in Massachusetts. While mainly found in western and central Africa, confirmed and suspected cases have surfaced since mid-May across Europe and North America.

Other presumptive cases in the U.S. have been reported in Utah and New York, the Associated Press reported, noting all the patients were men who had traveled outside the United States.

Monkeypox starts with flu-like symptoms and swelling of the lymph nodes before progressing to the rest of the body in a rash, or "pox."

The illness begins with:

• Fever
• Headache
• Muscle aches
• Backache
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Chills
• Exhaustion

Human-to-human transmission generally requires prolonged face-to-face contact, or direct contact with lesions or contaminated items, according to the state health department.

"Therefore, the risk of exposure remains low," the health department said, noting the smallpox vaccine likely provides cross-protection.

Florida health care providers who suspect a possible case of monkeypox should immediately contact their local health department or the 24/7 disease reporting hotline at (850) 245-4401, state authorities said.

Local county health departments can help providers obtain monkeypox virus-specific real-time testing.

The recent cases may have been caused by sexual activity at two raves in Europe, according to the Associated Press, which reported further spread of the virus through close contact is likely but the outbreak remains containable.

Human-to-human transmission generally requires prolonged, face-to-face contact, direct contact with lesion materials, or indirect contact with lesion materials through contaminated items, such as contaminated clothing. Therefore, the risk of exposure remains low.