First Probable Monkeypox Case Reported In Will County

WILL COUNTY, IL — The Will County Health Department has announced the first reported case of probable monkeypox infection in a resident of Will County, according to a release from the department.

Confirmatory testing is pending at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the health department said.

WCHD and Illinois Department of Public Health are working closely with the CDC, the patient, and the patient’s health care providers to identify individuals with whom the patient may have been in contact while infectious, according to the department.

No further details relating to the patient will be given, to protect patient confidentiality, the department said.

Monkeypox is a rare disease, which was first discovered in monkeys in 1958, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Monkeypox can be transmitted by exposure to respiratory droplets and by contact with infected skin lesions or contaminated materials, IDPH said.

Symptoms of monkeypox can include:

• Fever
• Headache
• Muscle aches and backache
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Chills
• Exhaustion

A few days after the appearance of a fever, the patient may develop a rash, which may begin on the face and then spread to other parts of the body, IDPH said.

In early June, IDPH announced that a Chicago man was determined to have the first probable case of monkeypox in Illinois. A second probable case of monkeypox was detected in Chicago shortly after. On June 13, a probable case was also reported in DuPage County.

According to the CDC, there have been 46 cases of monkeypox in Illinois.