An active U.S. service member in Germany is the military’s first known monkeypox case.
The U.S. Army Health Clinic Stuttgart in Germany said on Friday that an active duty service member had recently tested positive for monkeypox, becoming the military’s first known case of the virus.
The service member who tested positive was seen and treated at the Stuttgart Army Health Clinic, said the U.S. Army Health Clinic Stuttgart. They are in isolation and recovering. Officials from the public health say the risk is low overall to others.
“As a precautionary measure, contact tracing is being done for clinic staff who interacted with the patient. The case in Stuttgart is of the West African variant which is generally mild and human-to-human transmission is limited,” said the U.S. Army Health Clinic Stuttgart.
The U.S. Army Health Clinic Stuttgart suggests that measures be taken to prevent monkeypox, including speaking with your health care provider before traveling to “endemic areas” like western and central Africa, calling your health care provider and monitoring yourself if you have been in contact with anyone who has been confirmed to have monkeypox and practice good hand hygiene, among other measures.
Stars and Stripes said the miliary clinic has taken precautionary actions and officials are conducting contact tracing for staffers who interacted with the patient and notifying people that may have been in close contact.
CNN says that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, monkeypox spreads through direct contact with “an infected person’s bodily fluids or sores or can spread through contaminated materials like linens.” As of Thursday, CNN said that there have been 45 probable/confirmed cases of monkeypox in 15 states, as well as Washington, D.C. So far, there have been 1,356 cases in 31 countries.
