Monkeypox case ‘likely’ in Sacramento

SACRAMENTO — Sacramento health officials are investigating a “likely” case of monkeypox virus related to travel in Europe and are awaiting confirmation Tuesday of tests by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The California Department of Public Health said the individual “tested preliminarily positive for an orthopox virus” and state and local officials were awaiting confirmation from the CDC.

Sacramento County Public Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye said in a news conference that the risk to the public is “extremely low.”

“This case appears to be related to recent travel to Europe,” Kasirye said earlier Tuesday in a news release. “Public Health is working with CDPH to conduct contact tracing, and risk to the general public is extremely low.” Kasirye said the tests were sent to CDC officials on Monday, and that a timeline for the confirmation was not known.

Monkeypox symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. Within one to three days after the appearance of fever, the patient develops a rash. The rash often begins on the face before spreading to other parts of the body. The span from infection to symptoms can range from five to 21 days and the illness can last two to four weeks.