Albany Confirms First Case of Rare Monkeypox Virus - Now What?

Albany County Executive Dan McCoy announced on Tuesday that the first confirmed case of the possibly deadly monkeypox virus has been detected in an Albany believed to have traveled out of state.

Who got it and what do we do now?

Albany County Exec Daniel McCoy didn't publicize the person's name who contracted the potentially deadly disease, but McCoy did say quell some fears when addressing how the person may have gotten it in a statement on Tuesday.

"The infected person has a history of out-of-state travel and is not believed to have contracted this in Albany County," McCoy said in a press release.

According to the CDC, Monkeypox is a viral infection that is extremely rare, and oftentimes does not cause serious illness; however, it can lead to hospitalization and death, especially if left untreated.

In a Tweet on Tuesday, Albany County Executive McCoy wrote:

Albany County has demonstrated our ability to deal w/ communicable infections in the past & we will bring that same focus to this outbreak. We stand ready to work w/ the Governor to ensure we have the treatments & vaccines necessary to protect our residents. - Daniel McCoy Twitter 

The CDC explains that monkeypox symptoms are similar to smallpox symptoms but milder, and monkeypox is rarely fatal.

Symptoms include:

Fever
Headache
Muscle aches and backache
Swollen lymph nodes
Chills
Exhaustion

Once infected, the rash can look like pimples or blisters that appear on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body, like the hands, feet, chest, genitals, or anus.
The illness, according to the CDC, typically lasts 2-4 weeks.


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