Monkeypox: Man recovering from virus describes symptoms, experience; doctor answers questions
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Monkeypox is continuing to spread across the Bay Area and country, but what is it like to actually get the virus?
MORE: Everything you need to know about monkeypox origin, infection, vaccines, and treatment
ABC7 talked to Will Hutcheson, a Brooklyn fitness coach with a confirmed case of monkeypox, and UCSF infectious disease specialist Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, about symptoms, experiencing the virus and more.
When asked how he's feeling, Hutcheson says he has a more minor case, and he spoke to us when he was on day 9 since the first time he saw symptoms.
He says the lesions are very painful but, luckily, they are not on his hands or face. He says they began on his groin area and were first discovered while he was taking a shower.
VIDEO: How SF's responding to influx in monkeypox cases as demand increases for vaccines
Hutcheson said that while he suspected it could be monkeypox from the beginning, he had trouble getting diagnosed with the virus.
After he discovered the lesions, he went and got tested for STIs and he also asked them to test for monkeypox.
He waited two days to get his results back and they were negative, but he said he noticed he was not given the orthopox test -- which is the standard test for monkeypox. He then went to an emergency room in lower Manhattan and asked for a screening, which health officials performed in a biohazard room.
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Six days after symptoms began, he got his test results confirmed positive.
Watch the video in the player above for more on Hutcheson's experience and for a Q&A with Dr. Chin-Hong.
VIDEO: Many SF residents turned down for monkeypox vaccine 2 days in row amid high demand, limited supply
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