The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department on Tuesday reported the first presumed case of monkeypox in Lancaster County. The department says confirmatory testing is currently being performed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The person is a man in his 30’s with recent travel history outside of Nebraska. He is isolating at home. The Health Department is currently investigating potential close contacts and will notify those who may have been exposed.
Monkeypox is a disease caused by a virus and is primarily spread through close, skin to skin contact with someone who has a monkeypox rash. Health department officials have shared information and guidance with local health care providers about rapid detection, testing and treatment options for monkeypox.
The Health Department recommends that anyone who has an unexplained rash or other monkeypox symptoms contact their healthcare provider to be evaluated.
Symptoms
- A rash that can look like pimples or blisters that appear on the face, inside the mouth and on other parts of the body, like the hands, feet, chest, genitals or anus. The rash goes through different stages before healing completely. This process can take several weeks. Find pictures of monkeypox rash at https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/symptoms.html.
- Fever
- Headache
- Muscle aches or backache
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Chills
- Exhaustion
Five cases of monkeypox, including the one in Lancaster County, have been identified in Nebraska. Close to 2,000 cases have been reported in U.S. states and territories since May and numbers continue to rise. Since the beginning of the current global outbreak, over 14,000 cases have been reported worldwide, according to CDC data.