Monkeypox case reported in St. Clair County, according to state

A monkeypox case has been reported in St. Clair County, according to the state’s website showing case counts of the virus.

It did not indicate when that case was first reported, however, and the county health department did not immediately respond to questions early Wednesday afternoon.

The local health department had created an informational line at (810) 966-4164 to help field questions about the virus.

The virus, which is part of the orthopoxvirus family, first appeared in Michigan earlier this summer after outbreaks began to appear around the world. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it’s a viral disease that can be spread between people or people and certain animals but is not related to chickenpox.

Symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle ache and backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion, and a rash that can look like pimples or blisters on the face, inside the mouth, and other parts of the body, including the hands, feet, chest, genitals, or anus. The rash goes through different stages, according to health authorities, before healing properly and the illness typically lasts two to four weeks.

The state and local health department advises residents to avoid close, skin-to-skin contact with people who have a rash that looks like monkeypox, not to handle or touch the bedding, towels, or clothing of a person with monkeypox, and to wash their hands often with soap and water or use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has issued vaccine guidance and urged residents potentially exposed to the virus or suspect they have been exposed to contact their local health department about vaccination.

Antiviral drugs developed to protect against smallpox can also be used to prevent and treat monkeypox infections.

There have been 62 cases of the virus identified in the state. 

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