BARRY COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Health officials in Barry County announced their first recorded case of monkeypox on Tuesday, October 11.
According to Barry-Eaton District Health Department spokesperson Emily Smale, the case was confirmed on Friday, October 7. She went onto say that the patient was isolating and that close contacts were notified.
As of Monday, October 3, Michigan has recorded 279 confirmed and probable cases of the virus, with thirteen of them in Kent County and one each in Allegan, Ionia and Kalamazoo Counties.
Monkeypox is a viral illness that spreads through direct contact with infectious rash, scabs, bodily fluids, or prolonged face-to-face contact. Anyone can contract or spread Monkeypox.
Within three weeks after exposure and infection, symptoms generally appear, according to health officials.
Symptoms may include:
- Fever
- Headache
- Muscle aches and backache
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Chills
- Exhaustion
- A rash that can look like pimples or blisters that appear on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body, like the hands, feet, chest, genitals, or anus.
Infection may begin with flu-like symptoms and swelling of the lymph nodes that can progress to a rash on the face or body, according to the department. The rash often lasts two to four weeks.
Case counts by county in Michigan can be found online.
