A Texas resident contracted monkeypox after traveling to Nigeria. This is the first-ever case recorded in the United States after almost two decades.
Health officials reminded citizens not to be alarmed as the threat of monkeypox to the general public is minimal. According to the officials, the patient and the fellow airline passengers were all wearing masks during the flight back to Texas, hence the possibility of transmission is not a concern.
Despite the low possibility of an outbreak, the health officials are contacting and are contact tracing the passengers for the same flight for monitoring purposes. It could take a week to two weeks for symptoms to show if a person contracted the monkeypox virus. Symptoms include fatigue, fever, headache, and muscle ache.
The unnamed patient traveled from Nigeria to Atlanta on July 8. He then traveled from Atlanta to the Dallas Love Field Airport on July 9. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the patient is now at a hospital and is isolated. As for the medical status, the patient is in stable condition.
There have been no reports of monkeypox virus since the 2003 outbreak in the United States. During that time, only 47 people had the virus. Officials traced that the virus was contracted from pet prairie dogs in the Midwest during the said outbreak. Monkeypox then spread from one person to another through respiratory droplets or contact with bodily fluids.
Monkeypox is related to smallpox. Patients suffer from rashes that could last for about a month for both viruses. However, smallpox has a higher fatality as opposed to monkeypox. During the 2003 monkeypox outbreak, of the 47 patients, no one died.
Source: https://www.usatoday.com/
There is no treatment or vaccine for monkeypox. The smallpox vaccine will be administered to the patient as it was used during the 2003 outbreak.
