HOUSTON – A single case of monkeypox has been reported in Dallas County, Texas health officials said Friday.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said it is working with Dallas County Health and Human Services and the CDC to investigate a single case of monkeypox virus infection in a Dallas County resident who recently returned from Nigeria.
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TDSHS said in a news release Friday that the patient is isolated in the hospital, and the public health investigation has identified a few people who may have been exposed in Dallas and are monitoring themselves for symptoms of infection.
The illness does not currently present a risk to the general public, health officials said.
Public health officials are reaching out to passengers who could have been exposed to the patient on flights from Lagos, Nigeria to Atlanta, and Atlanta to Dallas Love Field on July 8-9, with instructions on how to monitor themselves for symptoms.
Monkeypox is a viral illness that sometimes infects humans in Central and West Africa. It is usually spread by contact with African animals or animal products infected with the virus but can sometimes spread from person to person through large respiratory droplets or contact with body fluids. People who do not have symptoms are not capable of spreading the virus to others.
Dallas County Health and Human Services is leading the investigation and has more information here.
The last reported case in the United States appears to have been in 2003, according to the CDC.