Lifestyle Health New York City Health Officials Investigating Possible Monkeypox Case New York City’s potential case comes one day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first U.S. monkeypox case of 2022 in Massachusetts By Vanessa Etienne Vanessa Etienne Twitter Vanessa Etienne is an Emerging Content Writer-Reporter for PEOPLE. People Editorial Guidelines Published on May 20, 2022 01:39 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Monkeypox virions. Photo: Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner/CDC via AP Health officials are investigating a possible case of the monkeypox in New York City, just one day after the CDC confirmed the first U.S. case of the virus this year. On Thursday, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced that there was a possible case of monkeypox and the patient is in isolation and being treated at Bellevue Hospital. "The Health Department's Public Health Lab will conduct preliminary tests, which — if positive — will be sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmatory testing," the department said in a statement. The rare virus, named because it was originally found in colonies of monkeys used for research, first causes fever, headache, muscle aches, chills and swollen lymph nodes, and after one to three days patients develop a rash that spreads over the body. Monkeypox typically spreads through respiratory droplets, or from touching body fluids or the rashes. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. CDC Confirms First U.S. Case of Monkeypox in 2022, Health Officials Assure 'No Risk' to Public New York's possible monkeypox infection comes just one day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed its first U.S. case of 2022 on Wednesday after a Massachusetts resident was diagnosed following a trip to Canada. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said the resident, an adult male, tested positive Tuesday. He has been hospitalized and is in stable condition at Massachusetts General Hospital, remaining in an airborne infection isolation room since last week. Along with the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, France and Germany have reported suspected or confirmed cases of the monkeypox outside of Africa. Australia has also confirmed two cases. Last year, the U.S. saw two separate cases of monkeypox after two individuals contracted the virus while traveling from Nigeria — the first case in July in Texas and the second case in November in Maryland. Monkeypox is most often found in central and West African countries or in travelers coming from those areas. Prior to 2021, the last cases in the U.S. were from 2003.