First Probable NJ Monkeypox Case Confirmed: Officials

JERSEY CITY, NJ - A North Jersey resident has tested positive for monkeypox this week, officials said.

The PCR test conducted by the New Jersey Department of Health was confirmed positive for orthopoxvirus on Saturday, the department said. A second test will be done by the CDC. Monkeypox is a type of orthopoxvirus, like cowpox and smallpox.

In a Facebook post, the Jersey City official government page confirmed that the case was found in a Jersey City resident. The individual is currently isolated at home, the New Jersey DOH said, and contract tracing is being done by the local health department.

In a statement released Monday, the state Department of Health says that the risk to New Jerseyans remains low as the disease is rare and spreads through close prolonged contact with an infected person or animal.

“This might include coming into contact with skin lesions, or body fluids, sharing clothes or other materials that have been used by someone who is infectious, or inhaling respiratory droplets during prolonged face-to-face contact,” the health department said.

113 confirmed monkeypox/orthopoxvirus cases have been reported in 20 states and the District of Columbia as of Tuesday, according to the CDC. The first US case in 2022 was reported May 18 in Massachusetts.

The disease is typically limited to central and west Africa, where people are exposed through bites or scratches from rodents and small mammals, preparing wild game or coming into contact with an infected animal.

But the World Health Organization has described the outbreak, now in more than 30 countries beyond Africa, as "unusual," the Associated Press reported.

Monkeypox symptoms are similar but milder than the symptoms of smallpox, with symptoms like fever, headache, muscle aches, and exhaustion 7 to 14 days after infection.

“As a precaution, any New Jersey residents who experience flu-like illness with swelling of lymph nodes and rash occurring on the face and body should contact their healthcare provider,” the state health department said.