Illinois public health officials say they have identified the first likely case of monkeypox in the state.
Although a final diagnosis is pending, doctors say the case in Chicago is presumed to be monkeypox. The infected individual is an adult male from Chicago who had recently traveled to Europe. Monkeypox starts off with flu-like symptoms but then leads to a rash on the face and body. It is transmitted through close contact with the skin or bodily fluids of an infected person or through bites and scratches of an infected animal.
It can be sexually transmitted, and a number of the 20 or so cases in the U.S. have involved gay or bisexual men, so health officials are urging anyone who develops an unexplained rash or sores to refrain from sexual contact until they can be evaluated by a doctor.
