Brown County, Wisconsin (WBAY) – Brown County has confirmed its first monkeypox case. According to Brown County Health and Human Services, the patient is being held in isolation while health officials conduct contact tracing.
Since June 1, 23 cases had been confirmed in Wisconsin, including at least three in Appleton and one in Menasha, as of Thursday.
There is no need for concern or alarm at this time, said Anna Nick, Brown County Public Health Officer. We are continuing to collaborate with DHS and our health care partners to monitor the status of monkeypox in Brown County. In our community, the risk of widespread transmission remains low.
The chances of contracting monkeypox are not as high as those of COVID-19. The virus is typically transmitted through skin-to-skin contact, primarily sexual contact. Fever, swollen lymph nodes, muscle aches, and chills are common early symptoms. Monkeypox causes a rash that progresses to pus-filled lesions.
It takes a lot of physical contact or really close contact to transmit monkeypox, explained Dr. Ashok Rai, president and CEO of Prevea Health. Even though you can get it through respiratory particles, it requires a lot of face time with someone. Consider the following: intense physical contact, intimacy, kissing, and people being together. Even people who are actively infected with monkeypox usually have these pustules all over their body. When those pustules open, they can infect bedding, and anyone who spends a lot of time in that bedding can become infected.
At this point, the majority of cases have involved men who have had sex with other men. However, health officials warn that as the number of reported cases rises, everyone should be on high alert.
A lot of the cases happened to be clustered in a certain group that had very close skin-to-skin contact with each other, and so it spread in that group, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t spread beyond that group. So it really is awareness of what the symptoms are, whoever you are, UW Health’s Dr. Dan Shirley said.
In Wisconsin, the JYNNEOS vaccine is available to those who qualify:
• People who are aware that a sexual partner has been diagnosed with monkeypox within the last 14 days.
• People who attended an event or venue where monkeypox was known to be present.
• Gay, bisexual, transgender, or anyone who has sex with their partner, as well as gender nonconforming/non-binary people who have had multiple sexual partners in the last 14 days.
There was already a stockpile of the vaccine — a limited amount — and the decision is how to distribute that among the states. Some of that is due to population and how many cases are already present in various locations, as well as determining who is at risk and attempting to reach them in a safe and equitable manner, Dr. Shirley explained.
The vaccine is being prioritised for those who have a known exposure to someone with monkeypox and people with certain risk factors who are more likely to be exposed to the virus, wrote Debbie Armbruster, De Pere Public Health Officer, and Michelle Myers, Oneida Nation Public Health Officer, in a joint statement. It is still critical that everyone in Brown County be aware of the signs and symptoms of monkeypox in order to help prevent its spread in our communities.
People who have been exposed to monkeypox should monitor their symptoms for 21 days after exposure. Check your temperature twice a day. If symptoms appear, consult a doctor.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, most people recover without the need for treatment. Monkeypox has no specific treatment. However, smallpox antivirals can be used.
Probably the most important thing that we’re doing here is contact tracing and making sure that those who have had true exposure, that true skin-to-skin contact, those household contacts are offered the vaccination. The vaccine may not completely protect you from monkeypox. It may make it milder. It is possible that it will prevent you from fully contracting it. So it’s critical that we learn about those close contacts early on. Those suffering from the disease can take an oral medication. It’s limited in who we can give it to based on other medications and illnesses they may have, Dr. Rai explained.
The average person doesn’t need to be overly concerned, Dr. Shirley said, but it’s more about raising awareness and understanding the symptoms and risk factors. The risk factors are moving to areas with a high number of reported monkeypox cases.
To learn more about monkeypox, CLICK HERE.
To help with the response to monkeypox, the federal government declared a public health emergency. With over 7,100 confirmed cases, the United States now leads the world. The virus has been reported in over 80 countries.
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