A second alleged case of monkeypox in Colorado has been identified.
The case is awaiting confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a press release from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
“The new alleged case is a young adult male who sought care in the Denver area and is improving and isolating himself at home,” the CDPHE said.
The first possible case in the state was announced on Thursday by health officials. That patient is described as a young man from the Denver area who had traveled to Canada, suffering from a smallpox outbreak of the monkey.
Friday’s alleged case is close contact with the state’s first alleged case, health officials said.
“The person who acquired the virus was a close contact of a person known to public health as an alleged case of monkeypox,” the CDPHE said.
Monkeypox often starts with fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes and exhaustion, the CDPHE said. A rash usually develops between one and three days after the onset of the fever, often starting in the face and spreading to other parts of the body.
Health officials say the monkey’s smallpox risk to the public remains low and that an effective vaccine is available, which can be given shortly after exposure, to minimize the disease. It is rarely fatal.
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