A man survived monkeypox during a 2003 outbreak. Here's what it was like for him
Wisconsin was the epicenter of the 2003 monkeypox outbreak.
Wisconsin was the epicenter of the 2003 monkeypox outbreak.
Wisconsin was the epicenter of the 2003 monkeypox outbreak.
Cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, Italy and the United States.
Cases in Canada and Spain are also being investigated.
Wisconsin dealt with its own outbreak of the disease nearly 20 years ago. Cases spread after prairie dogs being sold in Wisconsin were found to be infected.
The re-emergence of monkeypox in the U.S. brings back some painful memories for Dr. Kurt Zaeske.
He survived the 2003 monkeypox outbreak.
The Lake Geneva, Wisconsin man was a veterinarian in 2003 and came in contact with a prairie dog carrying the virus.
"Within about 48 hours of my handling that specimen, I became ill," he told sister station WISN.
He developed chickenpox, or pox-like lesions, nausea, dizziness and a high fever.
Zaeske spoke with WISN in 2003 after being quarantined for two weeks.
"I started developing a blister on my thumb that didn't look right, didn't act right," he said at the time.
Health officials in 2003 cautioned an alarmed public as more cases turned up across Wisconsin.
Dr. Seth Foldy was the Milwaukee Health Commissioner back then.
"Direct contact with the skin lesion of monkeypox can transmit the virus," he said in 2003.
There were 71 monkeypox cases reported in the U.S. in 2003. Of those, 39 cases were diagnosed in Wisconsin.
Video: Health experts caution against panic, encourage awareness about monkeypox outbreak
There has not been a single Wisconsin case reported in the 19 years since, but health officials said they're ready if monkeypox were to return.
"This is not something that's completely unfamiliar to us. There is a process within the state of Wisconsin and in the Milwaukee Health Department with how you manage the communicable disease, of which monkeypox is one, and we're prepared to manage it," current Health Commissioner Kirsten Johnson said.
Zaeske believes there would be less worry today about an outbreak than he recalls there was 19 years ago.
"We did not know what was going to happen (then)," he said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said one case of monkeypox has been confirmed in Massachusetts.
Six more cases are being investigated across the country. Two cases were diagnosed in 2021.