MSDH: There are currently no cases of monkeypox in Mississippi

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - As of Friday, May 20, there are no cases of monkeypox in Mississippi. This according to an MSDH Health Alert issued by State Epidemiologist Paul Byers.

But health officials in the state should use a “high index” of suspicion when evaluating those with characteristic rash, especially those in men who report sexual contact with other men and who present with lesions in the genital/perianal area, and people reporting a significant travel history in the month before their illness.

Monkeypox typically causes fever, chills, rash and lesions on the face or genitals.

If a Mississippi physicians identifies a patient with a rash that could be consistent with monkeypox, then monkeypox should be considered as a possible diagnosis.

Clinicians should then notify the MSDH Office of Epidemiology immediately with suspected cases of monkeypox.

France, Germany, Belgium and Australia confirmed their first cases Friday. On Wednesday, Massachusetts reported a rare case of monkeypox in a man who recently traveled to Canada. The case is the first in the U.S. this year.

To date, no one has died in the outbreak. Monkeypox comes from the same family of viruses as smallpox and the disease is fatal for up to 1 in 10 people, according to the World Health Organization.

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