Dallas County is reporting it's concerned there will be a "high likelihood" for locally transmitted cases of the monkeypox virus.
Dallas County Health and Human Services said Wednesday there are concerns that an out-of-state visitor who was in the area for the Daddyland Festival over the Fourth of July weekend may have exposed others to monkeypox.
The person went to a Dallas hospital with a rash and was diagnosed with monkeypox through laboratory testing at the health department.
The person attended festival events and private parties while infectious, the health department said. There is now concern that people who attended the Daddyland Festival could have been exposed and possibly infected with monkeypox, the health department said.
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The festival included dance parties with live music, pool parties and nightclub events where there was a high risk of monkeypox transmission.
According to DCHHS, 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. 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 health care setting.
Symptoms include fever, swollen lymph nodes and general body aches before the development of a rash.
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Common household disinfectants can kill the monkeypox virus.
Dallas County has previously reported four monkeypox cases among county residents. All four of those cases are local residents who have self-identified as men who have sex with other men and reported a history of international travel.
EDITOR'S NOTE: A July 6 press release sent out by DCHHS said there was a locally transmitted case of monkeypox, Dr. Philip Huang clarified that information July 7 to say there are concerns of the 'high likelihood and possibility' that the out-of-state visitor exposed local residents to monkeypox on July 4.
