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The Florida Department of Health in Volusia County is tracking a case of monkeypox identified locally. According to the Department of Health, the individual who contracted the virus is isolated.

The case, identified today, July 29, is the first confirmed case of monkeypox in Volusia County. As of July 28, the Florida Department of Health reports one confirmed case of monkeypox in Flagler County, two in Lake County and two in Seminole County.

Individuals who may have been exposed to the virus have been contacted by the Department of Health. 

“The monkeypox virus is spreading mostly through close, intimate contact with someone who has monkeypox. Transmission of monkeypox generally requires prolonged, face-to-face contact, direct contact with an active rash, or indirect contact with an active rash through contaminated items, such as contaminated clothing,” a statement from Department of Health Public Information Specialist Wendi Jackson said. “The threat of monkeypox to the general population remains low.”

Symptoms of the virus include, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes and rashes that “can look like pimples or blisters and may be painful or itchy.”

While no treatments exist specifically for monkeypox, Jackson said, treatments approved for smallpox have proved to be effective against the virus. People who have been exposed to the virus are encouraged to get vaccinated against it within 14 days of exposure. 

Vaccination is available through the Department of Health, but, as of now, only to people whose contact with the virus has been confirmed by the Department of Health.

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