(Mike Osborne) — The Nashville Health Department reported what’s thought to be Tennessee’s first case of monkeypox on Thursday.
In a social media post, health officials said the infected resident recently returned from overseas travel and is now isolated at home.
The Centers of Disease Control and Prevents notes that monkeypox victims suffer flu-like symptoms, rashes, and sometimes open sores. The illness is rarely fatal, and a vaccine is available.
Monkeypox is typically contracted through close, often intimate contact. You can also be exposed through an infected person’s clothing, linens or during prolonged, face-to-face contact.
A victim remains infectious until all rashes and sores have healed.
The Health Department is contact-tracing to identify anyone else who may have been exposed.