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Employees and children at an Illinois day care center are being tested after an employee tested positive for monkeypox, health officials said.
The positive case at a day care in Rantoul, Illinois was the third case in Champaign County, prompting health care workers to screen potentially exposed individuals at the facility.
“An adult at a nursery school in the Rantoul area has tested positive for monkeypox,” Dr. Sameer Vohra, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), said Friday. “We are currently screening children and other staff and have not found any additional cases at this time.”
The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) has confirmed that no other positive cases have been found.
New York City, Illinois declare state of emergency over monkeypox
At a press conference on Friday, CUPHD administrator Julie Pryde encouraged people to wash their hands regularly and offered vaccines to those they believed may have been infected.
“Monkeypox is not airborne and is spread primarily through close skin-to-skin contact. However, droplets from prolonged close contact and contact with potentially contaminated items such as towels and bedding It can also be spread by other people,” Pryde said. “This is a virus, and it doesn’t discriminate who it affects.”
“What we always say is your usual and the main thing is that you always wash your hands really well,” she added. If you know of, the website has very specific instructions on how to safely isolate yourself from others at home.”
Biden administration declares monkeypox a public health emergency
“We are targeting those who may have been infected, which means we will provide vaccines to children, contacts, family members who may have been infected, anyone who may have been infected in this situation. “We are doing it,” said Pryde. .
On Thursday, the Biden administration declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency.
“In light of the evolving situation on the ground, I declare a public health emergency on #monkeypox,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra in a tweet. We are ready to take it to the next level and urge all Americans to take monkeypox seriously.”
Later that same day, President Joe Biden said he would increase vaccine distribution and expand access to tests to detect the virus.
“I remain committed to the response to monkeypox, increasing vaccine distribution, expanding testing and educating at-risk communities,” he tweeted. “That’s why declaring a public health emergency on the virus today is critical to confronting this outbreak with the necessary urgency.”
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Monkeypox is a particularly rare disease, affecting more than 6,600 Americans. It can cause fever, body aches, chills, fatigue, and acne-like bumps on many parts of the body and is spread by prolonged skin-to-skin contact.