Austin man looks back on monkeypox experience

A couple of weeks ago, Brady Faucett noticed what looked like an ingrown hair. Then, he got a call from a friend.

AUSTIN, Texas - A couple of weeks ago, Brady Faucett noticed what looked like an ingrown hair. Then, he got a call from a friend.

"He was like, ‘Hey, I just got my test results back for monkeypox, and it’s positive,’" said Faucett.

On July 13, Faucett was able to get tested at the Kind Clinic, which he recommended as a resource. He didn’t get his positive test results back until July 20. By then, he had already started isolating.

The incubation period for monkeypox is up to 21 days.

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"That’s been the hardest part about the whole thing is the isolation," said Faucett. "Luckily, COVID sort of taught us we can do it, but still it's very hard to go back into that."

Though the isolation period has been hard, Faucett is thankful his symptoms have been mild.

"The day after I got tested, I had flu-like symptoms, had a fever, but other than that, I haven’t felt bad," he said. "I had like four or five total [sores] in general, all of which were very small and were able to scab over very easily."

Monkeypox is now considered community spread in Austin-Travis County

As of Tuesday, six monkeypox cases and seven presumptive cases were confirmed in Austin-Travis County. The illness typically lasts for 2−4 weeks.

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, there have been between 200-300 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Texas.

As of Thursday evening, there have been nine confirmed in Austin-Travis County, according to Austin Public Health.

"It is still largely circulating in Texas, as it is nationally and internationally, among gay and bisexual men or men who have sex with men, so that's the biggest concern and that's the population we want to make sure is aware of this," said Chris Van Deusen, director of media relations for DSHS. "That said, we certainly expect, and we've seen, some cases outside that population."

Van Deusen said over the weekend, DSHS received close to 15,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine, which is a two-dose regimen. Three-hundred-thousand of those doses will be sent to Austin Public Health.

According to DSHS, the vaccine can prevent the disease from occurring if given soon after a person is exposed, ideally within four days.

Anyone who believes they are a close contact with a monkeypox case should reach out to their healthcare provider. People can call APH’s Health Equity Line at (512) 972-5560 if they do not have a primary care provider.

Last week, the CDC began shipping orthopoxvirus tests to five commercial laboratory companies including Sonic Healthcare, which is based in Austin.