First confirmed case of Monkeypox in Summit County

Summit County Health Department. Photo: Michele Roepke

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah – The Summit County Health Department received notification of the county’s first monkeypox case today. The case was confirmed to be contracted by a Summit County resident.

“Summit County Health Department staff are prepared to respond to additional cases in our county as needed,” Summit County Health Director Dr. Phil Bondurant said in a statement. “While transmission of monkeypox appears to be low in our community at this time, we encourage residents to understand the symptoms and risk factors associated with this virus.”

The current monkeypox strain, unlike COVID-19, does not spread easily and is not an airborne virus. Monkeypox is most commonly spread through direct skin-to-skin contact with someone who has a monkeypox rash. At the moment, men having sex with men in high-risk situations with multiple partners are most at risk of contracting the disease. Individual people who have close, intimate, or sexual contact with multiple partners in a short period of time have an increased risk of contracting monkeypox.

The most common symptom of monkeypox is painful blisters or lesions. Although severe infection is possible, most people in the current outbreak have not required medical treatment.

The Summit County Health Department offers the monkeypox vaccine to those who have been directly exposed to the virus or are at high risk of contracting it. The vaccine can only be given to people who do not currently have symptoms of monkeypox, COVID-19, or influenza and meet the criteria set by the Centers for Disease Control and the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.

Learn more about monkeypox at www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox.