Town of Milwaukee in Wisconsin has confirmed its first case of monkeypox.

In response to news outlets, this marks the second documented monkeypox case in Wisconsin, with the primary case recorded in Dane County.

The Milwaukee Health Department confirmed that the infected person was isolated, and their close contacts got notified of his condition. A spokesperson also released an announcement saying that the person is doing well.

Per Dr. Ben Weston, an emergency physician at Froedtert Hospital and Milwaukee County’s health policy advisor, there isn’t any reason for people to panic or be extremely alarmed because monkeypox shouldn’t be as transmissible because the coronavirus.

Wisconsin’s health leaders have also stressed to the general public that the chance stays low. They are going to relay more information in the approaching weeks as they learn more concerning the particular strain behind the outbreak.

“There may be some droplet respiratory spread of monkeypox, that is possible, but we’re really talking hours of interaction time, as opposed to simply just a few seconds or minutes or like COVID. The more typical transmission is skin-to-skin contact, prolonged skin-to-skin contact,” Weston said.

He added that while rare, touching objects and surfaces utilized by an individual infected with monkeypox can even transmit the disease.

With an incubation period between five days to 2 weeks, monkeypox manifests through various symptoms, including fever, chills, and body aches. The brand new strain sets itself apart by leaving skin lesions that resemble pimples or blisters. Recovery can take anywhere between two to 4 weeks.

“For most individuals, it is a self-limited illness. Most individuals don’t require intensive medical treatment or hospitalization or anything like that. But what is significant is to forestall that spread to others. And that is where the vaccine comes into play,” Weston explained.

To this point, most recorded cases are amongst men who’ve sex with men. Nonetheless, Weston has reiterated that anyone can have an infection, saying that it has nothing to do with sexuality, but “it does need to do with close skin-to-skin contact.”