The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit says a laboratory has confirmed the first case of monkeypox in the region.
Communications Coordinator Susan Healey says the organization is following up with the person who contracted the virus.
“Monkeypox can spread from person to person by close face-to-face contact with respiratory secretions of an infected individual, or direct contact with the skin lesions of monkeypox, or contact with contaminated clothing or bedding,” Healey says.
According to Healey, household disinfectants can kill the virus.
She says the most common risk factors for contracting it include “sexual or intimate contact,” like kissing, hugging or cuddling, with a new partner, or more than one.
“Symptoms of monkeypox usually develop one to two weeks (range five to 21 days) after exposure and can include fever, headache, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes and rash/lesions (which may appear in the mouth/face or genitals and then spread to other areas,)” Healey continues.
If you start to develop symptoms of the virus, Healey is urging you to contact your healthcare provider and avoid close contact with others until you’ve gotten a diagnosis and any rashes have healed.
You can read more about monkeypox on the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit’s website here.