A United States resident, who recently travelled from Nigeria, has been diagnosed with a rare case of viral illness, human monkeypox, NAN reports.
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday, 16 July, confirmed that the disease was detected in Texas, making it the first case of the virus seen in the state.
The man is currently hospitalized in Dallas and in stable condition, says the CDC.
“While rare, this case is not a reason for alarm and we do not expect any threat to the general public,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said.
Other than Nigeria, outbreaks have also been reported in Central and West African countries since 1970, with a large outbreak in people in the U.S. in 2003, according to the CDC.
Monkeypox, which is in the same family of viruses as smallpox, is a rare but potentially deadly 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 capable of transmitting the virus, the health department said.
It typically begins with flu-like symptoms and swelling of the lymph nodes and gradually develops to widespread rashes on the face and body.
It can spread from person to person through respiratory droplets.
The CDC said since travelers were wearing masks due to Covid-19, the risk of the spread of monkeypox via respiratory droplets to others on airplanes and at the airports was low.
The patient was infected with the strain most commonly found in parts of West Africa, including Nigeria, CDC added.
The CDC said it was working with local health officials to contact airline passengers and others who were in contact with the infected traveler during their flights from Lagos to Atlanta on July 8 and from Atlanta to Dallas on July 9.
The last time monkeypox was seen in the U.S. was in 2003.
Nearly 50 people fell ill after imported African rodents infected prairie dogs, which subsequently infected humans, the CDC said.
This launched a government search across 15 states for infected prairie dogs.
Patmos media with agency reports
