Texas patient becomes first case of monkey pox in US since 2003

A Dallas, Texas resident who recently returned from Nigeria tested positive for monkey pox, a rare virus similar to smallpox, local officials said on Friday. Although this is the first confirmed case of the virus in the United States since 2003, officials said the public shouldn’t be concerned.

“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 Department of Health statement. of Dallas County. Because passengers wore masks on the flight and at the airport, the health department said, “The risk of monkey pox spreading via respiratory droplets to others on airplanes and in airports is weak. ”

Monkeypox, which belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox, is a rare but potentially fatal viral infection that begins with flu-like symptoms and progresses to a rash on the face and body, according to the CDC. It tends to last two to four weeks. People who do not have symptoms are not able to transmit the virus, the health department said.

Laboratory tests have confirmed that the patient is infected with a strain of the virus that is mainly seen in West Africa, which includes Nigeria. Monkeypox infections of this strain are fatal in about 1 in 100 people, most severely affecting people with weakened immune systems, according to the CDC.

Prior to this case, there were six other cases of monkey pox in travelers returning from Nigeria. The CDC said the case was not linked to any of the previous cases.

This is the first reported case of monkey pox in Dallas County, according to the health department statement. The person is currently in isolation in a hospital in Dallas and is in stable condition. The CDC said it was working with local health authorities to contact airline passengers and others who came into contact with the infected traveler on their flights from Lagos, Nigeria, to Atlanta on July 8 and from Atlanta to Dallas on July 9.

Monkey pox last time was seen in the United States in 2003. Nearly 50 people fell ill after imported African rodents infected prairie dogs, which then infected humans, the CDC said. This launched a government search in 15 states for infected prairie dogs.

Despite the virus’s past incidences, Dallas County Director of Health and Human Services Dr Phillip Huang said there was no cause for concern. “We have determined that there is very little risk to the general public,” he said in the health department statement. “This is another demonstration of the importance of maintaining a strong public health infrastructure, as we are only one plane flight away from any global infectious disease.”