Rare Monkeypox Virus Confirmed In Dallas

A Dallas resident has been confirmed as having the a rare case of monkeypox,. Yes, we are not making...

Dallas County Health & Human Services (DCHHS) reported this initial case on Friday and confirmed that the resident had traveled from Nigeria back to Dallas and then began showing symptoms and was hospitalized. The Center For Disease Control (CDC) is working to notify and contact all the passengers on the flights that the Dallas resident potentially came in contact with. With resent advances in Contact Tracing Technology used for COVID-19 exposure and mass global surveillance, it should not be a problem for the CDC to contact these individuals if they actually try.

The patient stopped in Atlanta from Lagos, Nigeria before arriving in Dallas on July 9th. The patient saw minor symptoms and had only a rash the day before their arrival in Dallas and would not actually be admitted into the hospital until July 13th. Once in the hospital, the patient tested positive for another rare and highly improbable virus that just magically shows up here in the United States.

Monkeypox was first discovered in 1958 and the first human cases were recorded in the 1970's in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The virus, which is found in Central and West African nations begins with a fever, headache, muscle aches and malaise with an incubation period of approximately 5 to 13 days. A rash will likely appear and then various states will begin to present themselves including the forming of lesions on the face which will turn red and fill will puss before scabbing and falling off.

The disease is similar to smallpox with a mortality rate of 1%-10% and those that are infected with the virus are contagious up to 5 days before the onset of symptoms.

From the CDC

Human-to-human transmission is thought to occur primarily through large respiratory droplets. Respiratory droplets generally cannot travel more than a few feet, so prolonged face-to-face contact is required," The CDC states. "Transmission can also occur by direct contact with body fluids or lesion material. Indirect contact with lesion material through fomites has also been documented. Animal-to-human transmission may occur through a bite or scratch, preparation of wild game, and direct or indirect contact with body fluids or lesion material.

And no....there is no specific treatment for monkeypox, but I am guessing ivermectin and hydroxychlorochline could be suitable alternatives.