2 New Suspected Monkeypox Cases Identified In Sacramento County, Unrelated To First 5

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Two more suspected cases of monkeypox have been identified in Sacramento County.

Sacramento County Public Health officials say the new suspected cases are unrelated to the five other initial cases that have already been found in the area.

Contact tracing has now begun and officials believe the cases are related to travel within the US.

Public health leaders have stressed that, despite the new cases being found across the country, the risk to the general public remains low.

The first case identified in Sacramento County happened back in May and is believed to be related to travel in Europe.

Monkeypox is a viral infection that is transmitted primarily through rodents and primates in parts of west Africa. The virus can also be transmitted from human to human through close contact. While it's not a sexually transmitted disease, many recent cases seen in Europe have been spread through sex between men.

European health officials raised the alarm about an outbreak weeks ago. Since then, there have been hundreds of documented cases in countries that generally don't see the disease.