Second case of monkeypox detected in the United States

By Tim StellohNBC

A second person in the United States tested positive for monkeypox on Friday, days after a first case was identified in Massachusetts, officials said.

Health officials in New York explained that he tested positive for the rare virus that is potentially serious and typically prevalent in West and Central Africa.

Although the case has not yet been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the person who became infected is isolated after showing symptoms consistent with the disease, the state health department reported.

This 2003 microscope image provided by the CDC shows monkeypox.AP

The authority did not explain how the person, from New York City, contracted the virus, which has recently been reported in Europe, Australia and North America.

A disease expert at the University of California, Los Angeles called the outbreak "the largest in the history of monkeypox in the Western Hemisphere."

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The suspicion of a second case in New York was ruled out, according to the health authority.

The state health commissioner said in a statement that the risk to the public was low, but alerted health providers in the case "so they can consider unusual diagnoses if their patients have symptoms.

[A specialist explains how monkeypox is transmitted]

The illness typically begins with flu-like symptoms that progress to

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The version of the virus seen in central Africa is the deadliest, with a fatality risk of 10%.

1% of people who contract the virus in that area die.

Monkeypox can be contracted from animals or from person-to-person contact.

Disease experts are trying to determine how the virus is spreading and where the current outbreak is coming from.