Sacramento County public health officials said Friday that they have identified a second suspected case of smallpox.
The case comes just days after the county reported its first case of monkeypox virus in an individual who had just returned from a trip to Europe, where cases of monkeypox have been reported. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention completed tests on the initial sample, where they confirmed the diagnosis of monkeypox, health officials said.
This second individual was a close contact of the initial patient and the connection was made by tracking contacts, health officials said. This sample will be sent to the CDC to confirm the diagnosis.
Both individuals were isolated in their homes and are not in contact with other people, health officials said.
Symptoms of monkeypox, which is similar to smallpox but less severe, include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and exhaustion. An infected person will usually develop a rash, which starts on the face and spreads to other parts of the body, between one and three days after the fever.
The incubation period for monkeypox is usually seven to 14 days, but it can be shorter or longer, and the disease can usually last two to four weeks, health officials said. The virus can kill up to 10 percent of those infected, health officials said.
Annie Vainshtein (she) is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: avainshtein@sfchronicle.com