23rd July, 2021
A week after a Nigerian resident in Texas was confirmed to have monkeypox after arriving from Lagos, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is monitoring dozens of people who may have come in contact with him.
The over 200 individuals being monitored are in 27 states and a few countries outside the United States, reports Fox News.
The patient flew into Atlanta, Georgia on July 9 from Lagos, Nigeria, and then went on to Dallas.
He was admitted to a hospital in Dallas.
The individuals being observed either know they were around the monkeypox patient or were on the same flights as the man.
None of the individuals being monitored is considered high risk and so far no additional cases have been found.
The CDC stresses that the risk to everyone else is low.
Meanwhile, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director-General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), on Tuesday in Abuja said 59 suspected cases and 15 confirmed cases of Monkeypox have been registered.
Ihekweazu said this while reacting to the Dallas, Texas resident who recently returned from Nigeria and tested positive to the disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these are the signs and symptoms to look out for:
The illness begins with:Fever, Headache, Muscle aches, Backache and Swollen lymph nodes.
Other symptoms are Chills and Exhaustion
Within 1 to 3 days (sometimes longer) after the appearance of fever, the patient develops a rash, often beginning on the face then spreading to other parts of the body.
At the moment, there is no safe treatment for anyone who has contracted monkeypox.
It has been over 50 years since the first case of monkeypox was diagnosed, according to the CDC.