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Update to Monkeypox Case in County Daycare Worker

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 3, 2023

Contact
Julie Pryde, Administrator
(217) 531-5369 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tanya Giannotti, Public Relations
(217) 531-2925 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Update to Monkeypox Case in County Daycare Worker

No secondary spread at this time.

CHAMPAIGN, IL – Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) is providing an update on the case of monkeypox associated with a daycare worker in Rantoul, Ill.  With the assistance of Carle Health and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), CUPHD has conducted screenings on all adults and children and offered the Jynneos vaccine to all who had potential exposure.  As of today, there have been no cases of secondary spread, meaning no one else associated with the known case of monkeypox has tested positive, including no one at the daycare and no one in the home.  The case is currently in isolation and doing well.

“The daycare center that we worked with was very responsive and quick in their actions to ensure the safety of the children and the center’s employees,” said Julie Pryde, administrator of

Champaign-Urbana Public Health District.  “The daycare’s director worked closely with us from the start to ensure that the CDC-required cleaning was done and that all who had potential exposures were contacted.”

Monkeypox is a rare, but potentially serious viral illness, which belongs to the Orthopoxvirus family, and typically begins with flu-like symptoms and swelling of the lymph nodes and progresses to a rash on the face and body.  The virus can spread through close prolonged contact with an infected person or animal.  This might include contact with the skin lesions, body fluids, or sharing clothes or other materials that have been used by someone who is infectious, and through respiratory droplets in prolonged face-to-face contact.

People who have a new or unexplained rash, sores, or symptoms, or have a confirmed exposure should contact a healthcare provider for assessment and testing.  If a person or their partner has monkeypox, they should follow the treatment and prevention recommendations outlined by their healthcare provider and avoid sex or being intimate with anyone until all sores have healed and a fresh layer of skin has formed.

“I would like to thank the daycare director and staff, Carle’s amazing quick response team, and my colleagues at the Illinois Department of Public Health and Champaign-Urbana Public Health District for their incredible work on this situation,” said Ms. Pryde.

Due to the limited availability of the Jynneos vaccine, only those with increased risk of infection are eligible currently for vaccination.  Individuals with questions about their eligibility for the monkeypox vaccine may email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 217-531-4926.

For more about this virus, visit:

https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/

https://www.c-uphd.org/documents/press_release/2022/2022-08-05-Monkeypox-PR.pdf

https://www.c-uphd.org/monkeypox-MPV-communication.html

 

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