Catawba County has recorded its first case of Monkeypox.
Catawba County Public Health announced Thursday a case was identified in a county resident. The viral illness causes flu-like symptoms, swollen lymph nodes and a rash with bumps.
Catawba Public health is seeking to find anyone who may have been in contact with the person who tested positive for the virus, a release from Catawba County Public Health said. The patient is in isolation.
There are 318 confirmed Monkeypox cases throughout North Carolina.
Monkeypox is typically spread through person-to-person contact through body fluids such as saliva or lesions, the release said. Anyone can get Monkeypox. This outbreak is causing most risk to people with multiple or anonymous sexual partners, the release said.
Gay or bisexual men or transgender individuals who have had multiple sex partners in the past three months, have a sexually transmitted infection or take HIV prevention medicine are eligible for the monkeypox vaccine, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. People who have had close contact with someone with Monkeypox are also eligible.