US CDC detects MonkeyPox case from Nigerian traveler

The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed that a rare case of monkeypox was found in an American resident in Texas, who recently returned from Nigeria.

This was disclosed by the American CDC in a report on Friday. They added that the person was being hospitalized in Dallas.

What the CDC said

“CDC is working with the airline and state and local health officials to contact airline passengers and others who may have been in contact with the patient during two flights: 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 spread of monkeypox via respiratory droplets to others on the planes and in the 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,” they stated.

According to the CDC, monkeypox is a rare but potentially serious viral illness that typically begins with flu-like illness and swelling of the lymph nodes and progresses to a widespread rash on the face and body.

They added that most infections last 2-4 weeks as monkeypox is in the same family of viruses as smallpox but causes a milder infection.

“In this case, laboratory testing at CDC showed the patient is infected with a strain of monkeypox most commonly seen in parts of West Africa, including Nigeria. Infections with this strain of monkeypox are fatal in about 1 in 100 people. However, rates can be higher in people who have weakened immune systems,” they said.

On the background of the disease

The US CDC said most monkeypox outbreaks had occurred in Africa. In addition to Nigeria, outbreaks have also been reported in nine other countries in Central and Western Africa since 1970.

“Monkeypox also caused a large outbreak in people in the United States in 2003 after the virus spread from imported African rodents to pet prairie dogs,” they said.

They added that CDC poxvirus experts were supporting the investigation and response to Nigeria’s monkeypox flare-ups since 2017, when the disease re-emerged in Nigeria after nearly 40 years.