Another person has tested positive for monkeypox in Massachusetts, health officials announced Thursday.
This is the seventh case found in the state since last month, the Department of Public Health said. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 84 cases of monkeypox virus so far this year in U.S. residents. There have been no reported deaths in this outbreak in the U.S. or globally.
The latest patient is an adult male and he has a recent international travel history, officials said.
The cases come a day after Massachusetts confirmed its fifth and sixth cases. DPH said going forward, they will provide an update on monkeypox cases and other information relevant to the virus every Thursday.
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Initial testing on the latest case was completed Wednesday at the State Public Health Laboratory in Jamaica Plain and confirmatory testing will be done at the CDC.
State health officials said they are working with local health officials, the patient and health care providers to identify anyone who might have come into contact with him while he was infectious.
Monkeypox typically spreads by skin-to-skin contact, or contact with contaminated clothing or bedding. It's rarely fatal. Symptoms include fever, headache, sore throat and swollen lymph nodes, and a rash that begins as flat lesions and becomes raised, then fill with fluid and develop into pustules. The number of lesions and where they appear varies person to person.
Early cases identified in the U.S. this year were associated with international travel, the Department of Public Health said, but many of the recent cases aren't.
A probable case of monkeypox in Rhode Island was believed to be related to travel to Massachusetts, Rhode Island health officials said last week.
