GRAND RAPIDS, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services on Monday, July 11, notified The Kent County Health Department (KCHD) that the first probable case of Monkeypox was identified in Kent County.
Health officials say the patient is currently isolating and does not pose a risk to the public. The KCHD is identifying and monitoring any close contacts for symptoms and no additional cases have been identified at this time.
Monkeypox is a rare but potentially serious disease that has an incubation time of one to two weeks after exposure.
Symptoms of monkeypox include headache, fever, muscle aches, and exhaustion followed by a rash and lesions often beginning on the face one to three days after the onset of illness.
The illness typically lasts two to four weeks.
The virus is spread from person-to-person by direct contact with bodily fluids or monkeypox lesions. Less common routes of transmission include respiratory droplets from prolonged face-to-face contact or contact with contaminated materials such as clothing or bedding.
Health officials recommend anyone experiencing symptoms to contact their healthcare provider.
Officials went onto say that at this time, there are no treatments specifically for MPV infections, but that MPV and smallpox viruses are genetically similar, which means that antiviral drugs and vaccines developed to protect against smallpox may be used to prevent and treat MPV infections.
They are assuring the public that most people don’t need a monkeypox vaccine right now, but suggest anyone who’s had contact with someone with the disease to contact their healthcare provider.
