DHS confirms first monkeypox case in Wisconsin

Today the Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced the first confirmed case of monkeypox in Wisconssin. It was contracted by an adult in Dane County. The number of monkeypox cases in the US has risen recently. Officials at DHS emphasized that this is not at this time a major concern for the general public. Monkeypox is primarily spread through close skin-to-skin contact and contact with items that have become contaminated with the virus. It is not normally transmissible through respiratory droplets, unlike illnesses like COVID-19. 

Monkeypox has many similarities to smallpox but is not severe. In most cases the disease is self-limiting and people who contract it will get better within several weeks. The department mostly wants the public to be aware of the disease so that people who become infected will be tested for purposes of tracking the illness. People should avoid skin contact with people with small lumps in their skin or who exhibit other symptoms of monkeypox.

Vaccines for smallpox are believed to be effective against monkeypox but it is believed part of the reason that the disease is becoming more common is that the herd immunity to smallpox-related illness has declined since people are no longer routinely vaccinated against it. 

Symptoms of monkeypox include small skin lesions or bumps, which may be fluid-filled, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, and fever. There are antiviral treatments that are effective against monkeypox but they usually will only be administered to people who are immunocompromised or are otherwise likely to become seriously ill.