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The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced on Wednesday, May 18, that it has confirmed a single monkeypox virus infection in the state.
The man who tested positive for monkeypox had recently traveled to Canada, health officials said.
DPH said it is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the patient's health care providers to identify those who may have been in close contact with the man.
"This contact tracing approach is the most appropriate given the nature and transmission of the virus," DPH said in the announcement. "The case poses no risk to the public, and the individual is hospitalized and in good condition."
Monkeypox typically begins with flu-like symptoms and swelling of the lymph nodes and eventually progresses to a rash on the face and body, DPH said.
DPH said the virus does not spread easily between people, and transmission occurs through contact with body fluids, sores, or items contaminated with fluids or sores, and also through respiratory droplets from prolonged face-to-face contact.
This is the first confirmed case of monkeypox in the US in 2022, health officials said.
Texas and Maryland each confirmed a case in 2021, health officials reported.
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