New Mexico has confirmed its first “probable case” of monkeypox, the state Department of Health announced Monday.
An unidentified patient who had recently traveled out of state underwent testing Friday and a subsequent test to confirm the positive result was underway at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the department said. The patient, meanwhile, is isolating at home and “doing well,” according to a news release.
An international outbreak of moneypox, a viral illness, had risen to 8,238 cases in 57 countries as of Monday, per the CDC. The United States has seen hundreds of cases across more than 30 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Symptoms of the illness include fever, head and muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes and a rash that may resemble pimples or blisters. Most cases recover but approximately one in 10 cases proves fatal, the World Health Organization has said.
It can be spread through contact with a person who has the disease or clothing or bedding used by an infected person. The CDC said early data suggested sexual contact has been a significant factor in the recent spread. Kissing or other contact with bodily fluids can transmit the disease. Monkeypox can also be contracted, health officials say, through contact with a wild animal, living or dead, that is unique to Africa — or even from using a product derived from those animals.
The New Mexico Department of Health advised Monday that symptoms typically begin within 21 days of exposure and last two to four weeks. The advice upon testing positive is to isolate at home until scabs have fallen off and fresh skin has formed over the sites. Vaccines against the disease are available and recommended by the CDC for anyone who has been exposed.
The DOH said anyone exhibiting symptoms should isolate themselves from others and contact their healthcare provider for monkeypox testing. Public health offices can assist those without a provider or health insurance, and can be looked up online at www.nmhealth.org/location/public/.
Because the symptoms can often resemble those of syphilis, which is far more common than monkeypox, the state also recommended free testing for sexually transmitted diseases via www.nmstdtest.org.
The department did not state whether the New Mexico resident who tested positive had been in contact with others since returning from their travel or if there was evidence for further community spread.
Acting state Health Secretary David Scrase said in a news release that monkeypox is rare and “does not spread as easily among people,” but warned nonetheless that “anyone who has close contact with someone with monkeypox is at risk of infection, which makes this a public health concern for all of us.”
Algernon D’Ammassa can be reached at 575-541-5451, adammassa@lcsun-news.com or @AlgernonWrites on Twitter.
