Monkeypox in Georgia: What you should know about the disease

A possible case of monkeypox recently was reported in Georgia, according to the Department of Public Health. It's the latest case out of a handful detected in the United States.

The rare disease does not occur naturally in the United States, but has been detected occasionally in people who have traveled internationally or when animals are imported from other areas with the disease.

"The Georgia Department of Public Health has confirmed a case of orthopoxvirus in a metro Atlanta, male resident with a history of international travel," wrote Georgia Department of Health spokesperson Nancy Nydam in a statement. "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is doing confirmatory testing to determine if this is monkeypox virus. DPH is conducting contact tracing and will continue to monitor this individual who is currently isolating at home."

From the CDC: Monkeypox in the United States

More: First suspected case of monkeypox confirmed in Georgia

Nydam said there is no additional information at this time, and that the Department of Health is not doing interviews. A tracker from the news wire service BNO News shows 772 confirmed cases outside of West Africa.

Based on information from the CDC, this is what we do know about the disease:

What is monkeypox?

Monkeypox is a disease caused by a virus in the same genus as smallpox and cowpox. First discovered in 1958 in a population of monkey test subjects, the first human case was counted in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. There have been outbreaks in other central and west African countries since, and occasionally outside, in the United States, United Kingdom, Israel and Singapore.

How does monkeypox spread?

Monkeypox is spread when people come into contact with an infected animal or person, or materials with the virus on them. This could be through a bite or scratch from an infected animal, coming into contact with bodily fluids or sores on an infected person, or materials that have come into contact with sores. It is largely spread by direct contact between people, or during prolonged face-to-face contact. Transmission can be prevented by avoiding contact with infected people or animals and practicing good hygiene if contact is necessary. The United States Food and Drug administration has approved a vaccine to prevent monkeypox.

Is monkeypox airborne?

Monkeypox spreads mostly through skin-to-skin contact, although it can be transmitted through respiratory secretions during prolonged contact. Unlike COVID-19, it is not a primarily airborne virus.

What is the monkeypox fatality rate?

During outbreaks in Africa, fatality rates have reached as high as one in 10 people who contracted the disease, although many people have mild illnesses that resolve without treatment. The World Health Organization says fatality rates have been closer to 3-6% recently. About 70 deaths from monkeypox have been reported across five African countries this year, and none outside the continent, according to CNBC.

Has the US had an outbreak before?

Monkeypox has been found in the United States before, including in 2003 when cases occurred in six states among people who reported becoming sick from pet prairie dogs. The prairie dogs, in turn, contracted the virus from small mammals imported from Ghana. There were two cases in 2021, both associated with people who had recently traveled to Nigeria.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Monkeypox: how it spreads, fatality, prevention, case in Georgia