TORONTO — More than 200 individuals in 27 states are being checked for possible monkeypox exposure after coming into contact with an American man who contracted the rare disease after returning from a trip to Nigeria, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. ) has confirmed.
Currently, there is one confirmed case of monkeypox in the United States, and none of those identified for surveillance are considered to be at high risk for developing the disease, the government agency said.
These individuals were on flights with the patient or had contact with the patient. The investigation is ongoing and the numbers may change slightly in the coming days, but no additional cases have been identified at this time, Amanda McGurn, a health communications specialist working with the CDC’s Division of Smallpox and Rabies, said in an email. -mail statement. to CTVNews.ca on Wednesday.
On July 15, the CDC and Texas Department of Health Services confirmed a human case of monkeypox in a man currently in a hospital in Dallas.
The man traveled from Lagos, Nigeria, to Atlanta on July 8, and from Atlanta to Dallas the following day.
“Passengers on these flights are required to wear masks, as well as at US airports due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the risk of spreading monkeypox via respiratory droplets to others on board and at airports is believed to be low.” The Center for Disease Control said in a statement: on time.
McGurn said the CDC has sent notices to doctors and is in contact with public health authorities across the country and internationally to ensure that people who may have been exposed are monitored and receive “rapid treatment” if they become ill.
“Early treatment and isolation of people who show monkey pox symptoms also help prevent the spread of the disease,” she said.
According to the CDC, monkeypox is a rare but potentially serious viral illness that usually begins with a “flu-like illness and swollen lymph nodes” and progresses to a widespread rash on the face and body.
Monkeypox was first discovered in monkey colonies held for research in 1958, and the first human case was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the virus that causes monkeypox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox, but it causes a milder infection that usually lasts between two and four weeks.
In the confirmed case in Texas, the CDC said the patient had a type of monkeypox that is most common in parts of West Africa, including Nigeria.
“Infection with this species of monkey pox kills about 1 in 100 people. However, the rates may be higher in people with weakened immune systems,” the health service said in a statement.
While the natural reservoir of monkeypox remains unknown, the CDC said African rodents and small mammals play a role in its transmission.
Although monkeypox is rarely seen in humans, the United States had a major outbreak of 47 cases in humans in 2003 after the virus spread from imported African rodents to domestic prairie dogs.
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