Ventura County’s first documented case of the monkeypox virus was confirmed on Friday, officials said.
The infection of an adult resident was confirmed Friday morning after laboratory tests were completed, according to Ventura County Public Health authorities, who announced the finding Friday evening.
The result is not unexpected, said Rigoberto Vargas, the county’s public health director.
“It’s something we’ve been preparing for,” Vargas said.
While the monkeypox virus has been making headlines lately as COVID-19 subvariants have boosted the number of local coronavirus cases, the two viruses are quite different from a public health perspective, Vargas said.
Officials know more about monkeypox than they did about the coronavirus when it first appeared, he said. There’s also a monkeypox vaccine “right off the bat,” Vargas said.
In addition, monkeypox doesn’t easily spread with casual contact, officials say.
Transmission can take place through contact with infectious sores and body fluids, through contact with contaminated bedding and clothing or through respiratory droplets shared through prolonged face-to-face contact, county health officials said in a release.
As of Thursday, California counted 434 confirmed monkeypox cases, including 121 in Los Angeles County, according to the state Department of Public Health.
Officials with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a primary driver of monkeypox transmission is intimate or sexual contact with an infected person, according to USA Today.
A smallpox vaccine known as Jynneos was approved in 2019 for adults to prevent monkeypox due to similarities in the viruses, according to USA Today. The vaccine requires two doses taken four weeks apart.
However, Ventura County public health officials said Friday the CDC doesn’t currently recommend broad use of the vaccine. The federal agency’s guidelines will be used to evaluate on a case-by-case basis whether a resident needs vaccination or antivirals for monkeypox exposure.
Monkeypox symptoms can include a rash that looks like pimples or blisters as well as fever, headache, muscle aches and swollen lymph nodes. The rash can appear in a person’s mouth and there may be sores in genital and anal areas, the local agency said. A rash can also appear on the face and other parts of the body.
The illness typically lasts two to four weeks and most people improve on their own without treatment, although monkeypox sores can cause scars. The disease can lead to pneumonia and in rare cases can be fatal. The virus can be transmitted from when symptoms start until the rash has healed and a fresh layer of skin has formed.
Dr. Robert Levin, Ventura County public health officer, said in a release that while the threat of monkeypox generally remains low, “it’s important that everyone be aware of this disease so that those at risk can implement prevention measures and seek medical care and get tested through a health care provider if they believe they have symptoms.”
County public health officials are conducting contact tracing with the first patient to identify anyone who may be at risk due to close contact. Authorities declined to provide the person’s age or city of residence.
Officials recommend minimizing skin-to-skin contact with those who have been exposed or who show a rash or skin sores, talking to sexual partners about recent illness and being aware of a partner’s new rashes or sores along with basic hygiene measures including washing hands with soap and water.
For more information, visit the California Department of Public Health’s link to monkeypox information at cdph.ca.gov.
