OCONTO (WTAQ-WLUK) — A person who visited Oconto County was contagious with monkeypox at the time, health officials say.
County health officer Debra Konitzer says the person was an out-of-state resident. More information could not be released because of health privacy laws.
Health officials have contacted those who were exposed. Those people are monitoring for signs and symptoms.
Konitzer says the risk of widespread transmission to the public is low. Monkeypox does not spread easily from person to person. People must have close, sustained contact with an infected person to become infected themselves.
Monkeypox is endemic in parts of Africa, where people have been infected through bites from rodents or small animals. It does not usually spread easily among people.
But last month, cases began emerging in Europe and the United States. Many — but not all — of those who contracted the virus had traveled internationally, and health officials in a growing number of countries are investigating.
The illness typically begins with flu-like symptoms and swelling of the lymph nodes, followed by a rash on the face and body.
There are no known cases of monkeypox in Wisconsin.
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