A monkeypox case was reported in Santa Rosa County. Here's what you need to know:
Health officials in both Escambia and Santa Rosa counties are monitoring for any signs of a local monkeypox outbreak after a case was reported in Santa Rosa County.
Monkeypox, a far-less lethal cousin of smallpox, causes painful blisters that can leave lifelong scars. It is passed through prolonged person-to-person contact or by touching material like sheets or clothing used by a contagious person. Symptoms are varied but usually involve fever, headache, muscle aches, backaches, chills, exhaustion and swollen lymph nodes.
As of Monday, the Florida Department of Health reported 101 confirmed cases and 209 probable cases in the state.
Local health officials are monitoring for a rise in monkeypox cases and will meet to review any case where a patient appears to have monkeypox or come into close contact with someone with the illness. Department of Health offices in Santa Rosa and Escambia counties will provide the FDA-licensed Jynneos vaccine to high risk groups as doses become available from the federal government.
A study published by the New England Journal of Medicine found that of the 528 infections diagnosed between April and June in more than a dozen countries, 98% of the people identified as gay or bisexual men. The World Health Organization has found 99% of cases in the United States are related to male-to-male sexual contact.
Jeremy Redfern, press secretary for the Florida Department of Health, said that monkeypox is not like COVID-19, which is spread through the air, making the overall exposure risk "extremely low" for most Floridians.
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"The only way you're going to get it is with that very close physical contact with somebody that already has monkeypox," Redfern said.
U.S. monkeypox cases are very rare, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Monkeypox does not occur naturally in the United States, but cases have happened that were associated with international travel or importing animals from areas where the disease is more common.
According to CDC data published Wednesday, there are currently 3,591 confirmed cases in the U.S., with positive cases in all states except Alaska, Montana, Vermont and Wyoming.
On July 23, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, declared the multi-country monkeypox outbreak to be a global "public health emergency of international concern.”
Monkeypox has long been endemic in parts of Africa. A news release by Africa CDC reports since February 2020, Africa has documented 12,475 cases and 365 deaths from monkeypox. There have been over 16,500 cases and 75 deaths in 75 countries globally this year.
Karen Weintraub of USA TODAY contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Monkeypox in Santa Rosa: Department of Health monitoring positive case
