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Florida is investigating its second possible monkeypox case. See how it’s spreading

Florida health authorities are investigating the state’s second possible case of monkeypox — as nearly 257 cases have been confirmed this month in 23 countries where the virus is not regularly found.

Both patients are isolated and the risk of exposure remains low, the Florida Department of Health in Broward County said last week in a news release.

On May 22, Florida Health reported the state’s first presumptive case of monkeypox after a person traveled internationally.

Authorities are conducting epidemiological investigations to notify people who may have been exposed and offers them medical treatment if necessary, the agency said.

Monkeypox is a rare and potentially deadly disease caused by a virus with the same name, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, exhaustion and swollen lymph nodes followed by a rash.

The risk of exposure remains low as people who received the smallpox vaccine are more likely to be protected against monkeypox, according to Florida Health. The state agency adds that human-to-human transmission generally requires prolonged and close contact, direct with bodily fluids or lesion material, or indirect contact with contaminated clothing or linens.

The disease has been predominantly detected in central and western African countries since the 1970s, according to the CDC. Cases in people living outside of Africa have been linked to international travel or imported animals.

READ MORE: Florida Department of Health and CDC investigating a monkeypox case in Broward County

In 2003, the CDC says there was a monkeypox outbreak in the U.S. after a shipment of animals from Ghana arrived to Texas, resulting in 47 confirmed and probable human cases.

But it wasn’t until last year that health officials confirmed another case of monkeypox in the country.

Timeline of recent monkeypox cases in the U.S.

Several confirmed and suspected monkeypox cases have been reported across America since July, according to federal and local health agencies.

The CDC is also tracking multiple clusters of monkeypox that have been reported in May in several countries that don’t normally report this disease, including in Europe and Canada.

There are 257 confirmed cases of monkeypox in 23 countries where the virus is not usually found, the World Health Organization reported Sunday.