Colorado monitors 2 people after exposure to in-flight monkey pox

DENVER (KDVR) – Colorado is monitoring two people who were potentially exposed to monkey pox after meeting an infected traveler on a flight.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment confirmed the information to FOX31 on Monday evening.

CDPHE said at the time that both people appeared to be in good health without any symptoms of infection.

Travelers are monitored daily by public health until July 30, which marks the end of the monkey pox incubation period, the CDPHE said.

The news comes after a Texas man was first diagnosed with the disease in mid-July after he returned to the United States after a trip to Lagos, Nigeria.

Monkey pox is a rare disease caused by infection with the monkey pox virus, and it has only been documented six times outside of Africa, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC says these are the symptoms of monkey pox to watch out for:

• The disease begins with:
  • Fever
  • Headache
  • Muscle aches
  • Back ache
  • Swollen lymph nodes
  • Chills
  • Exhaustion
• Within 1 to 3 days (sometimes more) after the onset of fever, the patient develops a rash, often starting on the face and then spreading to other parts of the body.

If you have questions about how to avoid getting infected with the monkey pox virus, visit CDC Prevention.