INDIANAPOLIS — State health officials announced Saturday that the first probable case of monkeypox in Indiana in 2022 has been identified. No further information about the patient will be released due to privacy concerns.
Initial testing was completed at the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) Laboratories today. Confirmatory testing is pending at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Based on the initial positive test and preliminary case investigation, state health officials consider this a probable monkeypox infection. The patient remains isolated, and health officials are working to identify anyone the patient may have had close contact with while infectious.
“The risk of monkeypox among the general public continues to be extremely low,” said State Health Commissioner Kris Box, M.D., FACOG. “Monkeypox is rare and does not easily spread through brief casual contact. Please continue to take the same steps you do to protect against any infection, including washing your hands frequently and thoroughly, and check with a healthcare provider if you have any new signs or symptoms.”
Person-to-person transmission is possible either through skin-to-skin contact with body fluids, monkeypox sores or contaminated items, such as bedding or clothing, or through exposure to respiratory droplets during prolonged face-to-face contact.
Monkeypox typically begins with fever, headache, chills, muscle aches and exhaustion about 5 to 21 days after exposure. Within 1 to 3 days (sometimes longer) after the appearance of fever, the patient develops a rash, often beginning on the face and then spreading to other parts of the body. Some people may only develop the rash. The illness typically lasts for 2 to 4 weeks. People are considered infectious until all scabs from the rash have fallen off.
The CDC reports that 113 monkeypox cases have been confirmed in 21 U.S. states and territories in 2022. Visit the CDC’s website for more information on the monkeypox outbreak.
Visit the Indiana Department of Health at www.Statehealth.in.gov for important health and safety information or follow us on Twitter at @StateHealthIN and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/StateHealthIN
