The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment notified Prowers County Public Health and Environment Thursday of a confirmed case of smallpox.
Health officials said in a news release that the risk to the general public remains low.
“The purpose of this communication is to let the public know that monkeypox has been confirmed in our community and that the risk to the public is low,” said Meagan Hillman, director of Public Health and Environment at the Prowers County. “To maintain the confidentiality of individuals, no further information will be shared regarding this case or future cases.”
Monkey pox has spread to parts of the United States. Colorado currently has 79 confirmed cases. The World Health Organization declared the current outbreak of monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern.
Hillman said the state health department is the best source for updated information: cdphe.colorado.gov/monkeypox. She urges anyone with symptoms to self-isolate and contact their healthcare provider.
Information everyone should know about monkey pox:
transmission
Monkey pox can be transmitted by:
Direct skin-to-skin contact with rash lesions
Sexual/intimate contact, including kissing
Living in a house and sharing a bed with someone
Sharing towels or unwashed clothes
Respiratory secretions through prolonged face-to-face interactions (the kind that occurs mostly when living with or caring for someone who has chicken pox)
Monkey pox is not transmitted by:
Casual short conversations
Walking past someone with monkey pox, like in a grocery store
symptoms
Symptoms of monkeypox may include:
fever
Headache
Muscle aches and back pain
Inflammation of the lymph nodes
Shivers
exhaustion
Respiratory symptoms (eg sore throat, stuffy nose or cough)
A rash that may look like pimples or blisters that appear on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body, such as the hands, feet, chest, genitals, or anus.
The rash goes through different stages before it heals completely. The illness usually lasts two to four weeks.
Sometimes people get a rash first, followed by other symptoms. Others experience only a rash.
Symptoms usually appear a week or two after infection. Coloradans can help prevent the spread of monkeypox by avoiding close physical contact with people who have acquired monkeypox, wearing a high-quality mask if they will spend time in close contact with someone who has symptoms of monkeypox monkey and contacting a health care provider as soon as possible if they develop symptoms.
vaccination
The JYNNEOS vaccine is a two-dose vaccine fully approved by the FDA, with doses given four weeks apart. If given between four and 14 days after exposure, the vaccine can help prevent serious illness, but may not completely prevent infection.
Due to the extremely limited national supply of vaccines, health can only use the allocated vaccine for close contacts identified by Public Health.
Statewide case counts are updated weekly at cdphe.colorado.gov/monkeypox.
For more information, visit cdphe.colorado.gov/monkeypox or call CO HELP: 1-877-462-2911
The Prowers County Health Department can answer questions and arrange a visit with a person’s health care provider at 719-336-8721.
