Virginia's 1st Monkeypox Case Diagnosed In NoVA Woman

VIRGINIA — A Northern Virginia woman who recently traveled to Africa has tested positive for monkeypox, the first case of monkeypox reported in Virginia, the Virginia Department of Health announced Thursday afternoon.

The diagnosis is presumptive because Virginia officials are awaiting confirmatory test results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the VDH.

The patient is an adult female resident of Northern Virginia with recent international travel history to an African country where the disease is known to occur, the VDH said. The woman was not infectious during travel, and she did not require hospitalization.

The woman is isolating at home to monitor her health. The health department said it is identifying and monitoring the patient’s close contacts. To protect her privacy, officials are not providing any further information about the woman's illness.

No additional cases of monkeypox have been detected in Virginia at this time, the VDH said.

“Monkeypox is a very rare disease in the United States. The patient is currently isolating and does not pose a risk to the public,” State Health Commissioner Colin M. Greene said in a statement Thursday. “Transmission requires close contact with someone with symptomatic monkeypox, and this virus has not shown the ability to spread rapidly in the general population."

The VDH is monitoring national and international trends and has notified medical providers in Virginia to watch for monkeypox cases and report them to their local health district as soon as possible.

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"Based on the limited information currently available about the evolving multi-country outbreak, the risk to the public appears to be very low," Greene said.

Nine monkeypox cases across seven states in the U.S. have been confirmed as of this week, according to the CDC. During a press briefing, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky confirmed that nine cases of monkeypox in seven states, including in Virginia, have been identified, The Hill reported.

“These cases were suspected by local clinicians. They were identified by local laboratories and triggered local public health action to help with treatment and management of any potential contacts,” Walensky said.

Along with Virginia, cases have been identified in California, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Utah and Washington.

Monkeypox is a rare, potentially serious viral illness usually contained to central and West Africa. It can be spread through close prolonged contact with an infected animal or person.

Such contact includes that with skin lesions, body fluids or sharing clothes or other materials used by someone who is infectious, and also through respiratory droplets in prolonged face-to-face contact, health officials said.

The illness usually begins with flu-like symptoms and swelling of the lymph nodes before progressing to the rest of the body in a rash, or "pox."

Any Virginians who experience flu-like illness with swelling of lymph nodes and rash are encouraged to contact their healthcare provider.

Last Friday, the VDH distributed a clinician letter to medical professionals reminding them to report any suspected cases of monkeypox to their local health department as soon as possible and implement appropriate infection prevention precautions.