The Illinois Department of Public Health and the Chicago Department of Public Health say Illinois has its first case of probable monkeypox. The case appeared in a Chicago man who had recently traveled to Europe.  The person is isolating and is said to be in good condition. Health officials are working on contact tracing.

Monkeypox is thought to be harder to spread than COVID-19 and comes from close contact with an infected person. IDPH notes that anyone can spread monkeypox regardless of sexual orientation, but early data suggests that gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men make up a high number of the initial cases.

Symptoms include fever, swelling of the lymph nodes, and then a rash on the face and body. Most infections last two to four weeks.

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