man in massachusetts diagnosed with monkeypox the first in the us this year healtha massachusetts man is infected with monkeypox case the first in the us this year follows unusual clusters discovered in europe and canadacreditcdc via associated pressmay 18 2022a man who had traveled to canada has been diagnosed with the monkeypox virus a rare and potentially fatal disease the massachusetts department of public health reported on wednesdaythis is the first report of monkeypox this year in the united states officials in texas and maryland recorded one case each last year but the new case follows a series of unusual clusters in other countries that have begun to alarm public health officialsin the past few weeks britain has identified nine monkeypox cases only one patient had recently traveled to nigeria where a strain of the monkeypox virus has been commonly seen while the remaining british patients who did not travel may have acquired the infection through community transmission three patients shared a household spain has 23 suspected cases portugal has confirmed five cases and is investigating another 15 canadian health officials are investigating at least 15 possible cases in montreal according to an infectious disease specialist who was familiar with the effort but was not authorized to discuss the matter publiclythe fact that its in the uk in multiple unrelated clusters plus spain plus portugal is a surprise said dr tom inglesby director of the johns hopkins center for health security at the bloomberg school of public healthmonkeypox is a more benign version of the smallpox virus and can be treated with an antiviral drug developed for smallpox but unlike measles covid or influenza monkeypox does not typically cause large outbreaksclinicians should become aware of the symptoms so that they can quickly detect new cases dr inglesby saidmonkeypox infection begins with fever and body aches its most recognizable feature is a characteristic rash that starts with flat red marks then becomes raised and filled with pusthe pustules appear on the face chest and on the palm which is somewhat unusual dr inglesby saidthe virus is endemic in parts of central and west africa and may be spread through bites or scratches from rodents and small mammals contact with live and dead animals through hunting and consumption of wild game or bush meat are known risk factors according to the world health organizationthe united states saw a monkeypox outbreak of dozens of cases in 2003 all were believed to have resulted from exposure to infected prairie dogs and other petsthe virus does not jump between people but can spread via body fluids contaminated objects or through respiratory droplets expelled by an infected person the cases reported in britain and in canada were mostly among men who have sex with menthese latest cases together with reports of cases in countries across europe confirms our initial concerns that there could be spread of monkeypox within our communities dr susan hopkins chief medical adviser to the uk health security agency said in a