A New York City man was diagnosed with mild disseminate shingle fever and disseminated encephaly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Thursday.
The new outbreak of the severe strain of the disease was linked to the same man, the agency said.
The man was a resident of the Bronx and was living with his girlfriend and their 3-year-old son.
“The man was at his apartment on April 9 when he began experiencing mild fever and sore throat and was advised to go to the emergency room for a fever test,” the CDC said.
The doctor at the Bronx Hospital found the patient was suffering from mild disseminates shingler, the CDC noted.
A second patient who was at the same apartment was diagnosed and had the same symptoms, the public health agency added.
The man, who was not a resident at the hospital, had a blood culture taken at the time of the diagnosis, and tests showed that the infection was spread to his lungs.
The blood tested positive for shingling fever and encephalitis.
He was treated at a hospital and released.
The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) said that it is taking the case seriously and is asking anyone who is in the Bronx to contact its hotline at 1-800-311-2367.
The state is urging anyone with information about the case to contact police or the state Department of Emergency Management.
The CDC did not release the name of the person who was infected with shinglings.
“Shingling is the most common form of bacterial pneumonia caused by the B. burgdorferi coronavirus, and it’s a particularly common cause of encephalopathies in children,” Dr. Michael M. Cappello, a professor of pediatrics at Columbia University, said in a statement.
“Children are particularly vulnerable to infection because of their small size, which makes them especially vulnerable to the virus’ effects on their nervous systems.”
Shinglings can occur at any age, but most often occur between the ages of 5 and 18.
Shingling symptoms include fever, muscle pain, difficulty breathing and shortness of breath.