A patient at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii was tested last week and treated for a suspected case of monkeypox, according to hospital officials.
The patient, who is not an active-duty service member, was placed in isolation and is recovering, according to Claudia LaMantia, a hospital spokeswoman.
The Hawaii Department of Health announced Friday that it is conducting contact tracing to determine whether any area residents, hospital staff or patients were exposed. LaMantia said she is not aware of any plans to start vaccinating anyone against the illness, which also is known as orthopoxvirus.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently working to confirm the diagnosis, with test results expected this week.
As of Sunday, there were 24 confirmed cases of monkeypox in 11 states in the U.S. and 911 cases worldwide, including 225 in the U.K. -- the largest number in any one country during the current outbreak, which was first detected in London on May 6.
The U.S. saw its first case in Massachusetts on May 18.
The orthopoxvirus spreads through close and prolonged contact with an infected person or animal and is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids; contact with the infectious sores, or pox, or through large respiratory droplets, which may settle on items used by an infected patient; or during prolonged face-to-face contact with a patient, according to the Hawaii Department of Health.
Symptoms include flu-like illness, swollen lymph nodes and a rash or sores, often on hands, feet, chest, face or genitals. Patients usually become ill within five to 21 days of exposure, and symptoms can last up to four weeks.
Hawaii State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Kemble said that the risk remains low for Hawaii residents because "monkeypox does not spread easily from person to person."
"[The Department of Health] continues case investigation and is coordinating with federal authorities to ensure that Hawaii has the resources we need to prevent and treat monkeypox infection," Kemble said in a statement.
The CDC reported that early data indicated initial cases of the disease outside Africa appeared to have been linked to gay and bisexual men who had sex with other men, but the CDC now stresses that "anyone who has been in close contact with someone who has monkeypox is at risk."
"Anyone who develops a rash that looks like monkeypox should contact a health care provider, even if they don't think they have been in contact" with a suspected case, according to the CDC.
Although the risk remains low, it could be higher in those who have traveled outside the U.S. to a country with confirmed cases, had contact with live or dead animals or products derived from them from Africa, or are members of a community where monkeypox has been spreading, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation, according to the CDC.
LaMantia said she visited with the patient and described them as "doing well" and hoping their case would reinforce the same public health advice given to fight the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. "Maintain social distancing, wear a mask and practice good hygiene such as handwashing -- that's the concern the patient wanted to express," she said.
-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime
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