CDC warns US airline passenger infected with monkey pox

The US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an alert following a Texas resident returning home from Nigeria while infected with human monkeypox. Now isolated in a Dallas hospital, the passenger traveled from Lagos to Dallas via Atlanta ten days ago.

Rare but potentially serious disease is emerging in Dallas

Monkey pox is a rare but potentially serious viral disease. The virus causes flu-like illness and swelling of the lymph nodes. It can then progress to a generalized rash on the face and body. Most infections last two to four weeks. The disease is most common in parts of West Africa. The CDC says infections with this strain of monkeypox are fatal in about one in 100 people.

“Although rare, this case is not a cause for alarm, and we do not expect any threat to the general public”, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a statement. The CDC is liaising with relevant airlines and health officials to contact airline passengers and others who may have been in contact with the patient on two flights.

Monkeypox hitchhikes on an intercontinental flight

This is the first case of monkeypox detected in the United States in 18 years. However, neither the CDC nor Texas health officials publish information on thefts. Authorities confirm that the passenger left Lagos Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS) on July 8. The flight arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) in Atlanta on July 9. The passenger then proceeded to Dallas Love Field (DAL) the same day. A little detective can easily determine which carriers and flights the passenger has most likely traveled on.

In this case, the current requirement for all airline passengers and crew to wear face masks in flight and at airports has reduced the potential risk of infection. The CDC says monkey pox typically spreads between people through respiratory droplets.

“The risk of spreading monkey pox via respiratory droplets to other people on planes and at airports is believed to be low,” the CDC said in a press release.

“We are only a plane flight away from any global infectious disease,Dallas health official Dr Philip Huang warns. However, Dr Huang seems relieved to have stopped this potential monkey pox outbreak before it spread to the United States.

Safe COVID Practices Help Reduce Risk of Other Illnesses

As COVID makes headlines, a full suite of exotic and potentially dangerous illnesses regularly hitchhike on international flights. Requiring passengers and crew to wear face masks in almost all jurisdictions around the world is preventing many of these airborne diseases from spreading as quickly as before.

Besides influenza, one of the most well-known airborne illnesses is tuberculosis (TB). The increased attention to in-flight hygiene and aircraft cleaning is also helping tackle a range of communicable diseases now largely overshadowed by COVID.

“More and more people are using international air travel”, says the World Health Organization. “Several epidemics of communicable diseases, such as staphylococcal food poisoning, measles, influenza and others, following exposure in a commercial aircraft, have been documented. Likewise, exposure to infectious tuberculosis on board commercial aircraft is a real concern for passengers and crew. “

The infected passenger is in stable condition and remains in a Dallas hospital.