Philadelphia Announces First Probable Case of Monkeypox in Pennsylvania

An electron microscopic image shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virus particles as well as crescents and spherical particles of immature virions, obtained from a clinical human skin sample associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regnery/CDC/Handout via Reuters

A probable monkeypox case has been identified in Philadelphia, the first such case in Pennsylvania.

The city’s health department announced the case based on preliminary testing at the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Bureau of Laboratories where the person tested positive for orthopoxvirus, the family of viruses that includes monkeypox and smallpox.