Health officials in Rhode Island said a suspected case of monkeypox in that state “is believed to be related to travel to Massachusetts.”
The Rhode Island Department of Health announced Thursday that a male resident of Providence County has tested positive for an orthopox virus, presumed to be monkeypox. The diagnosis will be confirmed by testing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The individual is hospitalized and in good condition,” officials said.
Specifics of the patient’s visit to Massachusetts were not immediately provided and RIDOH said additional details are not being released to protect his privacy.
Rhode Island health officials are conducting contact tracing to identify anyone who may have been exposed to the patient during the infectious period, they said. Contacts are to be monitored for three weeks after their last day of exposure.
The first case of monkeypox in the United States this year was identified in Massachusetts last month. That case was linked to the patient’s recent travel to Canada.
The patient was treated at Massachusetts General Hospital and discharged less than two weeks later.
