Health officials confirm first U.S. case of monkeypox virus this year in Massachusetts

Health officer uses a thermal head to detect a monkeypox virus on arriving passengers at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang near Jakarta, Indonesia on May 15, 2019.

The first case of the monkeypox virus this year was confirmed by the U.S. health officials late Wednesday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Massachusetts health officials are investigating a case, which was identified in a man who recently traveled to Canada.

The patient is hospitalized and in good condition, and officials are looking for people who may have been in contact with him while he was infectious. The case poses no risk to the public.

According to Massachusetts officials, monkeypox is a rare but potentially serious viral illness that can start with flu-like symptoms and swelling of the lysies. The rash on the body and face lasts two to four weeks.

After four decades without a single confirmed case, the virus reappeared in Nigeria in 2017. There have been 450 reported cases of monkeypox in Nigeria, and at least eight more have been reported internationally, according to the CDC.

Texas and Maryland reported cases of people who had recently traveled to Nigeria, according to the Massachusetts officials.

The CDC said there have been cases in Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom in the last two weeks. The federal agency said that there are cases of people who have sex with men who have been exposed to monkeypox.

The CDC told clinicians to look out for patients with monkeypox regardless of their sexual orientation or travel history. People suspected of having the virus should be isolated in a negative pressure room and staff should wear protective gear around them, according to the agency.

The director of the CDC said that healthcare providers should be alert to any rash that has features of monkeypox.

The public is asked to contact their healthcare provider if they have a new rash and are worried about monkeypox.

The CDC said that the monkeypox can be spread through contact with body fluids, the sores of a person with monkeypox, and shared items that have been contaminated with the virus. The agency said that monkeypox can be spread through respiratory droplets in a close setting.

The CDC said common household sterilants can kill the monkeypox virus.