ALBANY, N.Y. — New York health officials are investigating a potential case of monkeypox after a patient tested positive for the family of viruses associated with the rare illness, state health officials announced late Friday.
The patient is isolating and treating the case as positive while awaiting confirmation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
New York City public health officials said earlier they were investigating two potential cases of monkeypox, a virus rarely seen outside of Africa that can cause flu-like symptoms.
Testing ruled out one case, the state Health Department said.
“The other was positive for orthopoxvirus and had an illness consistent with monkeypox,” the department said.