Johnson County reports first presumptive case of monkeypox

Dr. Danny G. Mead, an assistant research scientist in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia, works with vials containing mosquitoes, which were caught last week in Albany, Ga., in the Wildlife Health building on the university campus in Athens, Ga. on Wednesday, April 7, 2004. About 75 percent of all new diseases, including those from major outbreaks such as SARS, bird flu and monkeypox, have come from animals. As a result, veterinarians and other animal disease researchers increasingly are needed to help in the fight against emerging infectious diseases. (AP Photo/Allen Sullivan)

by: Sam Atwell

Posted: Jul 9, 2022 / 11:35 AM CDT

Updated: Jul 9, 2022 / 11:43 AM CDT

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OLATHE, Kan. – The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment and the Kansas Department of Health are announcing a single presumptive monkeypox case in an adult male Johnson County resident. JCDHE is waiting test results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The person did not travel outside the country, did not require hospitalization and is isolating at home. No additional cases have been detected in Johnson County at this time.

“Monkeypox is a very rare disease in the United States,” said Dr. Sanmi Areola, JCDHE director. “Transmission requires close contact with someone with symptomatic monkeypox. This virus has not shown the ability to spread rapidly in the general population. Based on the information currently available, the risk to the public appears to be very low.”

Although rare, monkeypox is a potentially serious viral illness that is transmitted when someone has closer contact with an infected person or animal. Person-to-person spread occurs with prolonged close contact or with direct contact with body fluids or contact with contaminated materials such as clothing or linens.

Symptoms appear seven to 14 days after exposure and include fever, headache, muscle aches, exhaustion and swelling or the lymph nodes. After a few days, a specific type of rash appears, often starting on the face and then spreading to other parts of the body, for most people the symptoms clear up with two to four weeks.

If you are sick and have symptoms consistent with monkeypox, seek medical care from your doctor, let them know you are concerned about possible monkeypox infection so they can take precautions to ensure that others are not exposed.