Dallas resident who recently returned from Africa infected with the monkeypox virus
A Dallas resident who recently returned from Africa was infected with the monkeypox virus, the city said Friday.
This is believed to be the first monkeypox infection in a Texas resident, officials said.
The patient is being treated at a hospital and is stable, officials said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dallas County Health and Human Services and the Texas Department of State Health Services are guiding the investigation and tracing the few possible contacts of the patient.
The rare virus causes fever, rash and other flu-like symptoms and is not easy to transmit from one person to another.
Health authorities believe the risk to the public is very low, but encouraged people to follow basic infection prevention measures, such as washing hands regularly and staying home when sick.
Because of the patient’s recent travel history, Dallas Love Field officials are working with public health officials.
“We have been in close contact with Dallas County Health and Human Services, the city’s contracted public health authority, regarding the single case of travel-related monkeypox in Dallas,” Mayor Eric Johnson wrote in a statement. “We have confidence in the federal, state, and local medical professionals who are working to ensure that this virus is contained and that the patient is treated with the utmost care. The City of Dallas stands ready to assist their efforts in any way necessary.”
The patient traveled from Nigeria to Dallas and arrived at Love Field airport on July 9, Dallas County HHS said in a news release.
Travelers were required to wear masks on the flights as well as in U.S. airports due to the ongoing COVID pandemic, according to the release. “Therefore, it’s believed the risk of spread of monkeypox via respiratory droplets to others on the planes and in the airports is low,” Dallas County HHS said. “CDC is assessing potential risks to those who may have had contact with the traveler on the plane or in the airports.“
The individual has been isolated at the hospital to prevent the spread of the virus, according to HHS, and people who don’t have symptoms aren’t capable of spreading the virus to others.
The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the CDC. The U.S. experienced an outbreak of monkeypox in 2003 with 47 reported human cases.
