Diane Pineiro-Zucker is reporting for the Daily Freeman the Ulster County Health Department is awaiting confirmation of its first case of monkeypox, county Health Commissioner Carol Smith said Wed., Jul. 20. Earlier that same day, state health officials announced that Orange and Greene counties had identified their first confirmed cases of the virus. Monkeypox is a viral infection that is extremely rare, authorities said. It often does not cause serious illness, but can lead to hospitalization and death, especially if left untreated, according to a press release. Smith said, to her knowledge, there have been no deaths from the virus in New York state. As of Wednesday afternoon, additional cases had been identified statewide, with 711 in New York City, 18 in Westchester County, nine in Suffolk, four in Nassau, four in Monroe, two in Erie, and one each in Chemung, Rockland, St. Lawrence, Tompkins and Albany counties, Smith said. Monkeypox is spread through direct physical contact with someone who has monkeypox sores, via respiratory droplets (from lesions in the mouth), and also through contact with objects like clothing or bedding or towels that had been used by an infected person, Smith said. The state Health Department advises that anyone can get monkeypox, but based on the current outbreak, certain populations are being affected by monkeypox more than others, including men who have sex with men. Vaccines are currently available through health departments in New York City and in Sullivan, Nassau, Rockland, Saratoga, Suffolk and Westchester counties. Information on the vaccine is available at CDC [dot] gov. Information on monkeypox is available at the state Health Department website. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.