Monkeypox in Texas

The Texas Department of State Health Services is working with Dallas County Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate a case of monkeypox in a Dallas County resident with recent international travel. The patient is reportedly isolated at home.

Public health officials are also reaching out to passengers who could have been exposed to the patient on a flight from Mexico to Dallas with instructions on how to monitor themselves for symptoms.

The CDC is tracking multiple cases of monkeypox that have been reported in several countries that don’t normally report monkeypox, including the United States. DSHS and the CDC urge health care providers in the U.S. to be alert for patients with rash illnesses consistent to monkeypox.

The monkeypox virus spreads between people primarily through direct contact with infectious sores, scabs, or body fluids, the health authority reports, or be spread by respiratory secretions during prolonged, face-to-face contact.

“Monkeypox can spread during intimate contact between people, including during sex, as well as activities like kissing, cuddling, or touching parts of the body with monkeypox sores. Recently, monkeypox cases have been linked to men who have sex with other men and participate in high-risk activities. Those infected with monkeypox may experience fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes, as well as more serious complications.”

For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/index.html.