TRENTON, N.J. — Health officials in New Jersey are investigating the state’s first probable case of monkeypox.
According to a statement issued Monday by the New Jersey Department of Health, officials on Saturday identified orthopoxvirus in a person from North Jersey, WCBS reported.
Smallpox and cowpox are also found among the orthopoxvirus group of viruses, NJ.com reported.
According to WCBS, the patient is isolating at home, and health officials are conducting contact tracing, noting that the virus’ risk of transmission to others is low.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will test to confirm the New Jersey diagnosis.
The patient’s Jersey City location was confirmed earlier Monday in a post to the city’s official government Facebook page.
As of Friday, the CDC had confirmed 113 monkeypox cases across 21 states and the District of Columbia in 2022, the majority of which have been diagnosed since the beginning of May.
Per the CDC, “early data suggest that gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men make up a high number of cases. However, anyone who has been in close contact with someone who has monkeypox is at risk.”
To date, California has confirmed the most infections with 24 cases, followed by New York with 21 cases and Illinois with 15 cases. Meanwhile, Florida has confirmed 10 cases; Massachusetts has confirmed seven cases; Colorado and Hawaii have each confirmed five cases; Washington, D.C. has confirmed four cases; Georgia has confirmed three cases; Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Washington have each confirmed two cases; and Arizona, Maryland, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island and Virginia have each confirmed one case, according to CDC data.
Presumptive cases have also been detected in Indiana and Missouri.
Globally, the World Health Organization has confirmed a cumulative 2022 total of 2,103 laboratory-confirmed monkeypox cases, one probable case and one death across 42 countries.
©2022 Cox Media Group
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