Los Angeles County health officials are reporting what appears to be the first case of monkeypox identified in Los Angeles County. Although the presumptive case is still awaiting final confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the LACO Department of Public Health made the announcement to alert the public about the disease as a precautionary measure.
Although monkeypox, a cousin of smallpox, is not a novel virus, as COVID-19, it’s still serious. The disease causes skin lesions, rashes, pus-filled sores and fever. The adult patient zero in Los Angeles County has not been hospitalized, they are symptomatic and in isolation.
The patient had traveled recently and came into close contact with another monkeypox case.
Doctors emphasize the disease typically spreads by close or intimate contact with others. It’s highly unlikely to spread by casual contact. The disfiguring disease is not as contagious as COVID-19. Monkeypox was originally discovered in a monkey colony in 1958. The latest cases were first discovered in Spain and Belgium.