Detroit Reports First Monkeypox Case, Second MI Probable Case

DETROIT — Detroit health officials reported the city's first probable case of monkeypox Thursday night.

The case becomes the second probable case in Michigan after a resident in Oakland County showed signs of monkeypox in late June. That infected person showed signs of rashes, which is one of many Monkeypox symptoms, is self-isolating and does not pose a risk to the public, state health officials said.

It was unclear if the second case was linked to the first case, Spokeswoman Lynn Sutfin of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services told the Detroit Free Press.

"Right now, the information we have suggests that the number of high- and intermediate-risk contacts associated with the two identified cases is small," Sutfin said.

Health officials said they are trying to identify close contacts of the people who have monkeypox and might have been exposed.

Michigan is one of 34 states in the nation with known cases of the virus, which has also spread to 54 countries, according to the CDC.

There is a vaccine for monkeypox, including the smallpox vaccine, and over 99 percent of people who have been infected with monkeypox have survived the virus, health officials said.

Monkeypox spreads if someone comes in contact with the rash or body fluids of an infected person and through sexual intercourse. Early data from the nationwide outbreak shows that men who have sex with men make up a high number of initial cases, state health officials said.

Monkeypox is contagious when a rash is present and up until scabs have fallen off. Symptoms typically appear one to two weeks after exposure and infection, and the rash often lasts two to four weeks, state health officials said.

A monkeypox infection may begin with flu-like symptoms and swelling of the lymph nodes that progresses to a rash on the face and body. Other symptoms include:

• Fever
• Headache
• Muscle aches and backache
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Chills
• Exhaustion
• A rash that can look like pimples or blister that appears on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body, like the hands, feet, chest, genitals or anus.