UT Austin health officials confirm positive monkeypox case in the community

AUSTIN, Texas — Officials at the University of Texas at Austin said on Monday that a positive monkeypox case was confirmed in the community late last week.

University Health Services said it was confirmed shortly after cases began to appear in the Austin-Travis County area. This comes just days after Austin Public Health (APH) reported that monkeypox in Austin-Travis County is "community spread." APH announced the disease was now considered a local transmission last Wednesday. Community spread means infection in the area is moving at such a rate that the source can not be identified to a single individual or population.

We expect that our campus community will mirror the surrounding Austin community with regard to the incidence of this virus, as we have seen with other communicable diseases. The risk to the greater campus community remains low, and the virus does not spread easily without close contact. - UT Austin Health Services

RELATED: Austin Public Health confirms 6 positive, 3 presumptive cases of monkeypox disease

“Most people will have illness and rash and have resolution of the illness within 21 days,” Austin-Travis County Health Authority, Dr. Desmar Walkes said.

As of Thursday, July 14, APH reports nine confirmed monkeypox cases and eight presumptive cases. Doctors say avoid skin-to-skin contact with strangers, especially those with an infectious rash. The virus can also be spread through contaminated clothing, eating utensils, and saliva.

Symptoms of monkeypox can include: Fever, headache, muscle aches and backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion, a rash that can look like pimples or blisters that appears on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body, like the hands/palms, feet, chest, genitals, or anus.

The rash goes through different stages before healing completely. The illness typically lasts 2-4 weeks.

APH officials are working with the Department of State Health Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide testing and vaccinations to people suspected of having monkeypox.

“I think one of the important things that we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic is that we need to inform ourselves with information and if we are experiencing any symptoms at all we need to reach out to our medical care provider," APD Director, Adrienne Sturrup said.

This developing story will be updated with more details as they become available.