Dallas County health officials have issued two warnings about the high likelihood of monkeypox exposure.
Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) has now gotten notification of an out-of-state visitor with confirmed monkeypox who had multiple sexual encounters at Club Dallas between June 22 and June 25. These encounters happened while the traveler was infectious.
People who visited Club Dallas during these dates are advised to monitor themselves for possible monkeypox signs and seek medical attention if they develop symptoms. Symptoms include fever, swollen lymph nodes, and general body aches before developing a rash.
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“Anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, can spread monkeypox through contact with body fluids, monkeypox sores, or shared items (such as clothing and bedding) that have been contaminated with fluids or sores of a person with monkeypox,” DCHHS said in a press release. “Monkeypox virus can also spread between people through respiratory droplets typically in a close setting, such as people living in the same household or in a healthcare setting.”
There was a similar warning for people who attended the DaddyLand Festival over the Independence Day weekend which included pool and nightclub parties.
“The general population shouldn’t be worried, but certainly people who might have high-risk exposure and things like that should be thinking about it and doing what they can to monitor and prevent further spread,” Dallas County Director of Health and Human Services, Dr. Philip Huang said.
Huang says, while symptoms usually appear within one to two weeks, it could take up to 21 days.
“There are actually like two different strains typically that can circulate. What we’ve seen associated with this situation has been the less severe strain,” Huang said.
There are limited monkeypox vaccinations available in Dallas County and best practices included vaccination within four days of close exposure.
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“We have some limited numbers of vaccines available, that we provided to close contacts of some of the confirmed cases, but thus far the availability is still limited,” Huang said. “We are trying to prioritize on those higher-risk close contacts.”
