Sacramento County public health officials said Friday they have identified a second suspected case of monkeypox.
The case comes just days after the county reported its first case of the monkeypox virus in an individual who had just returned from travel in Europe, where cases of monkeypox have been reported. The Centeres for Disease Control and Prevention completed their testing of the initial sample, where they confirmed the monkeypox diagnosis, health officials said.
This second individual was a close contact of the initial patient and the connection was made through contact tracing, health officials said. That specimen will be sent to the CDC to confirm the diagnosis.
Both individuals were isolating in their homes and are not in any contact with other people, health officials said.
Symptoms of monkeypox, which is similar to smallpox but less severe, include fever, headache, muscle aches, backaches, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and exhaustion. An infected person will usually develop a rash, beginning on the face and spreading to other parts of the body, within one to three days after spiking a fever.
The incubation period of monkeypox is usually seven to 14 days but can range shorter or longer, and the illness overall can last anywhere from two to four weeks, health officials said. The virus can kill up to 10% of those infected, health officials said.
Annie Vainshtein (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avainshtein@sfchronicle.com