Courtesy of James F. Hicks, III, Franklin County public information officer
On Friday August 5, the Franklin County Health Department was contacted by the North Carolina Department of Public Health to report the first confirmed case of monkeypox in Franklin County. The patient is currently isolating at home and Franklin County Health Department staff are working with the patient on contact tracing. No additional information about this resident will be disclosed.
As of Thursday, August 4, there were 86 confirmed cases of monkeypox in North Carolina. Franklin County will continue to work with state and other local health departments to ensure we do all we can to contain the spread of this virus in Franklin County.
Franklin County Health Director, Scott LaVigne, stated that “With monkeypox cases continuing to rise across North Carolina, we anticipated a case would eventually be detected inside Franklin County. The good news is that this is not a new virus, and there are already treatments for those with the virus, and approved vaccines for close-contacts (which we did not have for COVID-19 when it began). Having available treatments and vaccines on ‘day-one’ can help curtail the spread of this virus in the early stages of this outbreak in Franklin County.”
Testing for those experiencing symptoms of monkeypox can be provided by your Healthcare provider and by most local health departments in North Carolina, including the Franklin County Health Department. For Franklin County residents with symptoms of Monkeypox, please contact your healthcare provider directly. If you do not have a healthcare provider, please contact the Franklin County Health Department at 919-496-2533 to screen for a test.
Vaccines are available to protect against monkeypox or to reduce disease severity. Only those exposed to someone with Monkeypox in the past two weeks, or those in certain eligible groups can receive the vaccine at this time.
For complete up-to-date information on monkeypox in North Carolina, including a: description of symptoms; where to go for testing & treatment; and who is eligible for vaccines, please use this link: https://epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/cd/diseases/monkeypox.html