A student at Rancho Cotete High School has tested positive for monkeypox this week.
The positive determination was announced Thursday afternoon in an email to parents of students in the Kotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District.
The student has been left at home and has not been to class this week, Superintendent Myra Perez said in an email, obtained by Press Democrat.
Arrived later Thursday, Perez confirmed the email’s authenticity but declined to provide details about the student. All she will say is that on Thursday, the girl’s parents informed the school authorities.
The crew has cleaned and sanitized the areas of the school where the student is believed to have been.
“Student safety is our top priority and we appreciate your support as we work together to ensure that all of our students and staff have a healthy and safe learning environment,” Perez said in an email.
It said school district officials are working with the California Department of Public Health to determine how and where the student got monkeypox. District health officials were also informed.
According to the County Health Services Department, there have been 32 suspected or confirmed cases of monkeypox in Sonoma County.
It is usually spread from person to person through respiratory secretions during prolonged, face-to-face contact or intimate physical contact, through direct contact with infected areas or body fluids.
Infection can also occur after touching clothing that has previously been in contact with an infected area or fluid.
Symptoms of monkeypox include: fever, headache, muscle and back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills and tiredness. The person also develops a rash that looks like a pimple or blisters on various parts of their body, including the inside of the mouth.
According to the Department of Health Services, the illness usually lasts two to four weeks.
Press Democrat reporter Martin Espinoza contributed to this story
You can contact Colin Atagi, Staff Writer, at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. @colin_atagi on twitter
(This story has not been edited by seemayo staff and is published from a rss feed)