First case of Monkeypox confirmed in US

The first case of Monkeypox this year was confirmed by the US health authorities - a man from Massachusetts who travelled to Canada recently. The Massachusetts Department of Health said, by news agency AFP, the patient poses no risk to the public, and the individual is hospitalised and in good health. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing for the possibility of more monkeypox, a virus that belongs to the orthopoxvirus family. Monkeypox has symptoms similar to smallpox but is comparatively less severe.

The US CDC said in a statement, anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, can spread monkeypox through contact with bodily fluids, monkeypox sores, or shared items such as clothing and bedding that have been contaminated with fluids or sores of a person with monkeypox. It was mentioned that household disinfectants can kill the virus on surfaces. The US agency said the illness often starts with the flu-like symptoms, fever, muscle ache, swollen lymph nodes before causing a chickenpox-like rash on the face and body.

The difference between a monkeypox and a chickenpox is that the former causes lymph nodes to swell, while the latter doesn't.

After this development, health authorities in Quebec province of Canada announced they were investigating around 13 suspected cases of monkeypox. The Public Health Agency of Canada PHAC called for public health authorities and laboratory partners across Canada to be alert for and investigate potential cases.