Massachusetts reports 7th monkeypox case, DPH will give weekly updates about outbreak

State health officials have confirmed yet another monkeypox case, the sixth infection reported during the last week as the outbreak grows.

The newest monkeypox case in the Bay State is a man who recently traveled internationally, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

The state confirmed the case on Thursday, bringing the total number of monkeypox cases in the state to seven. Massachusetts had the first identified case in the country on May 18. Since then, 84 cases have been confirmed in U.S. residents.

For the newest Massachusetts case, initial testing was completed late Wednesday at the State Public Health Laboratory in Jamaica Plain. Confirmatory testing will be done at the CDC.

DPH said it’s working with local health officials, the patient, and healthcare providers to identify people who may have been in contact with the patient while he was infectious. The individual is currently isolating to prevent spreading monkeypox to others.

There have been no deaths in the U.S. or globally related to this outbreak, and patients generally recover fully in 2 to 4 weeks.

Although many of the early cases were associated with international travel, recent cases are not. Gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men make up a large proportion of the cases. However, anyone who has been in close contact with someone who has monkeypox is at risk.

DPH said it will be updating the public on monkeypox each Thursday, including providing case counts and other important information.

Monkeypox transmission occurs through direct contact with body fluids and monkeypox sores, by touching items that have been contaminated with fluids or sores (clothing, bedding, etc.), or less commonly, through respiratory droplets following prolonged face-to-face contact. In many of the recent cases, the locations of the rash lesions suggest transmission during sexual contact.

“Clinicians are asked to be alert to the possibility of monkeypox virus infection in individuals who have rash illnesses consistent with monkeypox,” DPH said. “Early symptoms of monkeypox can include fever, headache, sore throat, and swollen lymph nodes, but rash may be the first symptom. Rash lesions start flat, become raised, fill with clear fluid (vesicles), and then become pustules (filled with pus). A person with monkeypox can have many lesions or may have only a few.”

Officials have been telling people to consider avoiding large gatherings like raves and dance parties, where people may have lots of close body contact with others.

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