NCW Health Providers On The Lookout for Monkeypox

There's concern about Monkeypox here in Washington now that the state's first case of the disease has been reported.

Monkeypox is more common in West and Central Africa, but has spread lately to parts of Europe and North America.

Dr. James Wallace with the Chelan Douglas Health District says there's no danger of Monkeypox becoming a pandemic on the level of COVID-19.

"No, because it is not as contagious and it's harder to spread because its droplet precautioned, and not airborne spread like COVID is," said Wallace. "So it's harder to get, and right now it's not nearly as widespread."

Monkeypox is a very rare virus that is very similar to Smallpox, but looks more like chickenpox.

Early symptoms include swollen lymph nodes, headache, fever, muscle aches and fatigue. The disease then progresses into a rash and lesions that blister and scab over, which can happen all over the body. The illness usually lasts two to four weeks.

Wallace says the presence of Monkeypox in Washington means health providers must assume that patients with symptoms actually have the virus.

"We are one of the areas where it has been identified, and so we need to increase our suspicion a little more than if we were in a state or region that had not had any reported cases.

The first case of Monkeypox in Washington was reported last Sunday in King County.

According to the CDC, Monkeypox can enter the body can enter the body through broken skin, the respiratory tract or mucous membranes, including the eyes, nose and mouth, according to the CDC.

It is not sexually transmitted, but it can spread through intimate contact during sex when someone has an active rash.

Washington is one of seven U.S. states to have reported nine cases of Monkeypox so far.

It's called Monkeypox because it was first identified in Monkeys that were kept for research purposes known to exist more frequently in Western Africa.