The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) has announced the first case of monkeypox in the state.
The patient was only identified as a male between the ages of 40 and 49 who resides in New Haven County. The patient is isolating and has not been hospitalized.
Monkeypox is related to smallpox, but it is far less serious. It was first identified in 1958 in laboratory monkeys in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the first known cases were confirmed in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in 1970. Signs of monkeypox include fever and body aches followed by a rash of red bumps that become pus-filled blisters which crust over. The new wave of infections has not resulted in any deaths.
“DPH believes that the risk to Connecticut residents from this case is low,” said Commissioner Dr. Manisha Juthani. “The United States is currently experiencing a monkeypox outbreak, and there will likely be additional cases in Connecticut in the weeks ahead. Monkeypox can spread through close prolonged contact with an infected person. This might include coming into contact with skin lesions, or body fluids, sharing clothes or other materials that have been used by an infected person, or inhaling respiratory droplets during prolonged face-to-face contact.”
