The Florida Department of Health-Broward and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating the first presumptive case of monkeypox in Broward.
(CBSMiami) – The Florida Department of Health is now investigating a second presumptive case of monkeypox. It’s unclear if the two cases are connected, but the two individuals have been isolated. Officials will continue to figure out if anyone else has been exposed. In the meantime, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has put a warning to doctors to look for patients with monkeypox symptoms.
“Anytime something new comes across their desk they push that out,” Dr. Joshua Lenchus said. Lenchus is the chief medical officer for Broward Health. When asked if the first patient had been brought to the hospital, Lenchus told reporters he could not reveal that information. Instead, he said, “I can’t tell you much about the presumptive case, the two other cases they had last week were international travel and they were both US citizens that came back to the country.”
Uniquely, monkeypox is being seen for the first time in people with no clear connection to Western and Central Africa where it had been geographically limited for years. Now, anyone can be affected, but according to the CDC, many of those currently affected identify as gay and bisexual men, that’s why it wants to raise awareness.
