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Health officials: Michigan has 1st probable monkeypox case

Michigan's first probable case of monkeypox has been identified. It belongs to the same virus family as smallpox, but its symptoms are milder.
Credit: AP
FILE - This 2003 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virions, left, and spherical immature virions, right, obtained from a sample of human skin associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. (Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner/CDC via AP, file)

LANSING, Michigan — Michigan's first probable case of monkeypox has been identified in suburban Detroit, health officials said Wednesday.

The case was identified in an Oakland County resident who is currently isolating and does not pose a risk to the public, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported.

Preliminary testing completed at the department's Bureau of Laboratories returned a presumptive positive result and testing to confirm the case is underway at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency said.

State and local health officials are working to notify any close contacts of the individual, the department said.

“Monkeypox is a viral illness that spreads primarily through direct contact with the infectious rash, scabs, bodily fluids or prolonged face-to-face contact,' said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, the department's chief medical executive.

"It is important to remember that the risk to the general public is low. However, Michiganders with concerns about monkeypox should see their provider to be evaluated for testing,” she said.

The CDC reports that there are 306 confirmed cases in 27 states and the District of Columbia.

Monkeypox belongs to the same virus family as smallpox, but its symptoms are milder. People usually recover within two to four weeks without needing to be hospitalized, but the disease occasionally is deadly.

    

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