(USA TODAY) – A Texas resident who recently traveled from Africa has been hospitalized after contracting what the Texas Department of State Health Services believes is the first case of monkeypox in the state, a diagnosis that comes 18 years after the nation's last outbreak of the rare disease.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other heath officials are working to trace the person's contacts to help prevent another outbreak of the illness. But health officials say the risk to the public is low, especially because COVID-19 precautions on the person's flights probably kept the virus from spreading.
Monkeypox, which originates from the same family of viruses as smallpox, causes flu-like illness and swelling of the lymph nodes, progressing to a widespread rash on the face and body, according to the CDC. Most infections last two to four weeks. Though it's known to cause mild infection, it can become a serious viral illness.
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