DuPage County reports first case of monkeypox

The first case of monkeypox in the suburbs has been found in DuPage County, public health officials said Saturday.

The DuPage County Health Department said in a news release that a man who had traveled internationally tested positive for the virus, which is related to smallpox but is much milder and less contagious.

Cases are usually found in West and Central Africa, but there have been over 500 cases reported in the United States, Europe, Israel and Australia in recent months.

The Illinois Department of Public Health and DCHD are working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to confirm Friday's initial positive test and perform contact tracing. There is no indication that there's a high risk of local spread, DCHD said.

Two cases of monkeypox were found in Illinois last week. No deaths have been reported in the recent outbreak.

Monkeypox is transmitted through close physical contact with an infected person's body fluids or monkeypox sores, as well as contaminated items, or through respiratory droplets following prolonged face-to-fact contact.