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Dallas Resident Is Hospitalized After Getting Monkeypox


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A Dallas resident is hospitalized after testing positive for the rare illness called Monkeypox.

The patient was flying from Nigeria and had a layover in Atlanta before arriving in Dallas, Texas.

After landing in Dallas the patient did not check into a hospital until four days later after experiencing serious symptoms.

Local health officials and the CDC came to the conclusion that the patient had Monkeypox which is rare and deadly illness.

The symptoms usually start off as flu-like illness, swollen lymph nodes and widespread rashes on the face.

As of right now the CDC believes there’s no real threat of a Monkeypox  outbreak due to the fact the patient had very little contact with people.

The Dallas Morning News had these details to add:

The patient flew to Dallas Love Field from Atlanta on July 9 after arriving in the country earlier that day on a flight from Lagos, Nigeria, officials said.

Heath officials said the patient, whose identity was not released, was in isolation at a Dallas hospital and was stable. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was working with its counterparts in Nigeria to determine how the patient contracted the virus.

According to Dr. Philip Huang, Dallas County’s public health director, the patient went to the hospital Tuesday, four days after arriving in Dallas. Local health officials did preliminary tests, and the CDC confirmed the diagnosis of monkeypox on Thursday.

State, local and federal health officials, along with the airline, were working to identify people who may have had close contact with the passenger during the flights — but they expect the number of potential contacts to be low.

NBC News had more on the story:

A case of monkeypox has been confirmed in a Texas resident who had flown to Atlanta from Nigeria on July 8, with a final destination of Dallas Love Field Airport on July 9, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. It is the first case of the virus seen in the United States in nearly two decades.

The patient is hospitalized in isolation in Dallas and is in stable condition, health officials with the Dallas County Health and Human Services said.

“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 in a press release.

The illness, caused by the monkeypox virus, has not been detected in the U.S. since a 2003 outbreak, which involved 47 people. That outbreak was traced to pet prairie dogs in the Midwest that harbored the virus.

But monkeypox can also spread from person to person through respiratory droplets or other bodily fluids.



 

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