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FILE – This 2003 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virions, left, and spherical immature virions, right, obtained from a sample of human skin associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. WHO’s top monkeypox expert Dr. Rosamund Lewis said she doesn’t expect the hundreds of cases reported to date to turn into another pandemic, but acknowledged there are still many unknowns about the disease, including how exactly it’s spreading and whether the suspension of mass smallpox immunization decades ago may somehow be speeding its transmission. (Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner/CDC via AP, File) Florida’s first case of pediatric monkeypox has been confirmed in Martin County. According to the Florida Department of Health, the child’s age is no more than four years old. In Southwest Florida, we’re seeing two more cases, bringing the total to 12. The state is reporting one case in Charlotte County, three in Collier County, and eight in Lee County. Florida has nine pediatric cases, all in the 15- to 19-year-old age group. Florida has the third highest number of cases in the U.S. at 1,085. The first case in SWFL was reported in Collier County on July 1. Most monkeypox patients experience only fever, body aches, chills and fatigue. According to the FDOH in Collier County, monkeypox typically begins with flu-like symptoms and swelling of the lymph nodes and progresses to a rash on the face and body. The duration of the illness is usually between two to four weeks. Monkeypox comes from the same family of viruses as smallpox. Monkeypox is much milder and rarely fatal. The FDA licenses two vaccines to treat monkeypox, and those are being rolled out along with a diagnostic test that is launching through Quest Diagnostics. The Centers for Disease Control warn this vaccine is not for everyone. People who are immunocompromised, pregnant or those with existing skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis should not get this vaccine. For more information, visit F-DOH.