Suspected monkeypox case in RI ‘believed to be related to tavel to Mass.’

On Jun 9, 2022

Health officials in Rhode Island said a suspected case of monkeypox in that state “is believed to be related to travel to Massachusetts.”The Rhode Island Department of Health announced Thursday that a male resident of Providence County has tested positive for an orthopox virus, presumed to be monkeypox. The diagnosis will be confirmed by testing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”The individual is hospitalized and in good condition,” officials said. Specifics of the patient’s visit to Massachusetts were not immediately provided and RIDOH said additional details are not being released to protect his privacy.Rhode Island health officials are conducting contact tracing to identify anyone who may have been exposed to the patient during the infectious period, they said. Contacts are to be monitored for three weeks after their last day of exposure. The first case of monkeypox in the United States this year was identified in Massachusetts last month. That case was linked to the patient’s recent travel to Canada. The patient was treated at Massachusetts General Hospital and discharged less than two weeks later. In parts of central and west Africa where monkeypox occurs, people can be exposed through bites or scratches from rodents and small mammals, preparing wild game, or having contact with an infected animal or possibly animal products. It does not spread easily between people, health officials said. Transmission between individuals can occur through contact with body fluids, monkeypox sores, items that have been contaminated with fluids or sores such as clothing and bedding or through respiratory droplets following prolonged face-to-face contact.Symptoms of the virus include fever, headache, muscle aches, exhaustion, and swollen lymph nodes. Infected people develop a rash, often beginning on the face and then spreading to other parts of the body, that turns into fluid-filled bumps. Illness typically lasts 2-4 weeks and most people recover with no treatment.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. —

Health officials in Rhode Island said a suspected case of monkeypox in that state “is believed to be related to travel to Massachusetts.”

The Rhode Island Department of Health announced Thursday that a male resident of Providence County has tested positive for an orthopox virus, presumed to be monkeypox. The diagnosis will be confirmed by testing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The individual is hospitalized and in good condition,” officials said.

Specifics of the patient’s visit to Massachusetts were not immediately provided and RIDOH said additional details are not being released to protect his privacy.

Rhode Island health officials are conducting contact tracing to identify anyone who may have been exposed to the patient during the infectious period, they said. Contacts are to be monitored for three weeks after their last day of exposure.

The first case of monkeypox in the United States this year was identified in Massachusetts last month. That case was linked to the patient’s recent travel to Canada.

The patient was treated at Massachusetts General Hospital and discharged less than two weeks later.

In parts of central and west Africa where monkeypox occurs, people can be exposed through bites or scratches from rodents and small mammals, preparing wild game, or having contact with an infected animal or possibly animal products. It does not spread easily between people, health officials said.

Transmission between individuals can occur through contact with body fluids, monkeypox sores, items that have been contaminated with fluids or sores such as clothing and bedding or through respiratory droplets following prolonged face-to-face contact.

Symptoms of the virus include fever, headache, muscle aches, exhaustion, and swollen lymph nodes. Infected people develop a rash, often beginning on the face and then spreading to other parts of the body, that turns into fluid-filled bumps.

Illness typically lasts 2-4 weeks and most people recover with no treatment.