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Health officials cautious about possible monkeypox spread: The CDC also reported that a child had developed encephalitis from monkeypox - the most serious illness yet reported among the cases hospitalized and treated for rashes, fever, chills and other flu-like symptoms. The agency would not report where the child lives and said only that he or she is younger than 10. It is not 3-year-old Schyan Kautzer, the Dorchester, Wis., girl who was first diagnosed with monkeypox and is now home recovering. The encephalitis case isn't believed to be from Wisconsin, health officials said.

From the article you posted: now it's two healthworkers and the boyfriend of one of them. Sounds like human to human transmission, definitely.

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/6075986.htm/

In that same article, officials are giving INCORRECT INFORMATION. I hate it that they or their staff can't do a simple google research and get their facts straight.

Here is a quote:

"Herb Bostrom, director of communicable diseases for the Wisconsin Department of Public Health, said officials knew from experience in African monkeypox outbreaks that the disease could be passed from person to person - in 8 percent to 15 percent of cases, according to the CDC. People getting it from infected animals is far more common."

This figure is WRONG.

From CDC's website, the information and facts posted re. the Congo 1996-97 epidemic states the opposite, that the VAST MAJORITY of the cases were secondary infections, i.e. human to human transmission:

"Of the 89 case-patients for whom data were available, 65 (73%) reported contact with another case-patient 7-21 days before onset of illness and thus were considered secondary cases. " And they even have a nice chart. See link below.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00048673.htm/

Also from the same article you posted, now the number of new cases are 72!!! I don't like these rapidly increasing numbers.

"As of Thursday evening, at least 72 human monkeypox cases in four states were being investigated - 21 in Wisconsin, 33 in Indiana, 17 in Illinois and one in New Jersey. Twelve had been confirmed by lab tests at the CDC."

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/6075986.htm/