The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, and health officials in Dallas, Texas are investigating a case of monkeypox in a traveller who arrived from Nigeria.
In a statement, the Director of the Dallas County Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Philip Huang, stated: “The individual is a City of Dallas resident who travelled from Nigeria to Dallas, arriving at Love Field airport on July 9, 2021. The person is hospitalised in Dallas and is in stable condition.
“We have been working closely with the CDC and the Texas Department of State Health Services, and have conducted interviews with the patient and close contacts that were exposed. We have determined that there is very little risk to the general public,” Huang said.
The CDC said it was working to contact airline passengers and others who may have been in contact with the patient during flights from Lagos, Nigeria, to Atlanta on July 8, with arrival on July 9; and Atlanta to Dallas on July 9.
“Travellers on these flights were required to wear masks as well as in the U.S. airports due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it’s believed the risk of the spread of monkeypox via respiratory droplets to others on planes and in airports is low.
“Working with airline and state and local health partners, CDC is assessing potential risks to those who may have had close contact with the traveler on the plane and specific settings.”
The CDC said that in Africa, monkeypox has been shown to cause death in as many as 1 in 10 persons who contract the disease. It noted that the strain involved in this week’s case is much less deadly, killing perhaps 1 in 100 people.
Outbreak only declared when large cluster of cases is an emergency — NCDC
In a response to the development, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, said that Nigeria had recorded cases of monkeypox this year, but noted that an outbreak is only declared when a large cluster of cases constitutes an emergency.
