IDPH: Probable monkeypox case found in Pottawattamie County

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (WOWT) - The Iowa Department of Public Health said Wednesday afternoon that it had confirmed Pottawattamie County’s first probable case of monkeypox.

Pottawattamie County Public Health said in a news release that the department was “working closely with IDPH to conduct contact tracing.”

According to the release, the virus known as monkeypox is most commonly spread through skin contact or by way of shared items that have been contaminated by bodily fluids, but it can also make its way from person to person through “prolonged face-to-face contact” or other means of intimate contact.

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“Although monkeypox is not generally considered a sexually transmitted infection, it can be transmitted during intimate contact and sex by skin-to-skin and other intimate contact, regardless of gender or sexual orientation,” the release states.

The state and local health departments advise anyone who has had contact with a confirmed or suspected case — or has traveled to a country where monkeypox cases have been reported — to be mindful of symptoms, particularly rashes or lesions.