INDIANAPOLIS -- State health officials said Tuesday they expect more people to come forward in the days ahead with symptoms of monkeypox.

Video

Officials Searching For People With Prairie Dogs HELPFUL LINKS Virus Spreads Across Midwest CDC Info. WHO Info. Guidelines For Vets, Pet Owners

The number of suspected cases of monkeypox in the state rose to 23 on Tuesday, the Indiana Department of Health said. Officials believe as many as 100 Indiana residents may have been exposed to the disease, many of them at a reptile show last month in Indianapolis.

"More cases have come in," said Bob Teclaw, epidemiologist for the Indiana Department of Health. "And we expect as people learn about this and realize that they may have symptoms or may have been exposed to sick prairie dogs, that we'll be having more."

Confirming all the cases will take time, he said.

The State Board of Animal Health banned the sale of prairie dogs and Gambian rats at a hastily called meeting Monday. The ban is expected remain in effect until at least mid-July.

Officials expect more suspected cases of monkeypox because the suburban Chicago pet distributor believed to have sold infected animals participated in a monthly Midwest Reptile Show on May 18 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

Exposures occur when people are scratched or bitten by an infected animal.

"What we're calling a suspect case is someone with symptoms that are clinically consistent with monkeypox and have had exposure to some type of animal that could have given it to them," Teclaw said.

Monkeypox, which produces fever, rash, chills and aches, is a milder relative of smallpox. It has a mortality rate of 1 percent to 10 percent in Africa, but no humans have died in the United States, and U.S. officials believe better nutrition and medical treatment probably will prevent deaths.

Teclaw said the suspected Indiana cases were not confined to a particular area or age group and included men, women and possibly one child.

Health officials Tuesday announced a total of five confirmed human cases of the disease -- four in Wisconsin and one in Illinois. No people have died of the outbreak. In addition, 44 possible cases have been reported in those states and in Indiana.

The Centers for Disease Control has said the prairie dogs likely were infected with the virus by a giant Gambian rat, which is indigenous to Africa, while at the pet distributor.

Thirty-one people or businesses in Indiana are believed to have bought prairie dogs, Gambian rats or other exotic animals from Phil's Pocket Pets in Villa Park, Ill., since April 15.