ATLANTA — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Friday that there has been a confirmed case of human monkeypox in a passenger who traveled through Atlanta on a flight.
The CDC and the Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed the case on Thursday.
"The person is currently hospitalized in Dallas," the CDC said in a release.
According to the CDC, the U.S. resident traveled from Lagos, Nigeria to Atlanta on July 8, arrived in Atlanta on July 9 and then caught a flight to Dallas.
The CDC said it is working closely with the airline, state and local health officials to determine who may have come into contact with the passenger.
"Travelers on these flights were required to wear masks as well as in the U.S. airports due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic," the CDC said. "Therefore, it’s believed the risk of spread of monkeypox via respiratory droplets to others on the planes and in the airports is low."
The CDC defines monkeypox as a "rare but potentially serious viral illness that typically begins with flu-like illness and swelling of the lymph nodes and progresses to a widespread rash on the face and body."
The CDC said monkeypox is classified in the same family as smallpox and in this case, the person is infected with a strain of monkeypox most commonly seen in parts of West Africa, including Nigeria.
According to the CDC, most infections last 2-4 weeks and are fatal in about 1 in 100 people.
Prior to this current case, the CDC said there has been at least six reported monkeypox cases from Nigerian travelers, including the United Kingdom, Israel and Singapore.
The CDC said this current case is not related to any previous cases.