COLUMBUS – Columbus Public Health is investigating a local case of monkeypox in a 48-year-old man.
The patient’s name was not released and health officials said only that he lives in the jurisdiction of Columbus Public Health, which includes Columbus and Worthington, director of public affairs and communication Kelli Newman said.
The case is the second one in Ohio and Newman says the risk to the general public is low.
Ohio Department of Health director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff announced on June 13 that the state had identified a probable case of monkeypox, which is uncommon but is circulating in the U.S.
Monkeypox is caused by a virus that spreads through close, intimate contact or through contact with sheets, towels and other objects and through kissing, Newman said.
The illness typically lasts two to four weeks.
Monkeypox starts with flu-like symptoms with a fever followed by a rash or sores and can spread from the time symptoms start until the rash has fully healed.