TRENTON, N.J. - The first probable case of monkeypox has been reported in New Jersey, according to the state's Department of Health.Officials say a North Jersey resident was found with orthopoxvirus on June 18 after taking a PCR test.
A test to confirm monkeypox will be conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The person is isolating at home, according to NJDOH.
Local health departments are also contact tracing to identify any individuals who may have been exposed.No other information was made available due to patient confidentiality.Officials say the risk of monkeypox remains low for New Jersey residents.
However, anyone with flu-like illnesses is instructed to contact their health provider."Most New Jersey residents are not at risk of infection with monkeypox," the NJDOH said.According to officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, monkeypox is caused by a virus that is in the same genus of viruses that causes smallpox.Monkeypox, according to the CDC, was first discovered in 1958, following two outbreaks of a pox-like disease in colonies of monkeys that were kept for research.The first human case of the disease was recorded in a country now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970, during a period of intensified effort to eliminate smallpox.