BOSTON — A Massachusetts man who recently traveled out of the country has tested positive for the rare monkeypox virus infection and is now being hospitalized in Boston, health officials confirmed on Wednesday as an outbreak emerges in Europe.
This is the first monkeypox infection identified in the U.S. this year, and it comes as the CDC tracks clusters that have been reported in several countries that don’t normally report monkeypox, including the U.K., Portugal, and Spain.
While monkeypox is a potentially serious viral illness, Massachusetts health officials told the public to not be alarmed — stressing that the local case poses no risk to the public.
