Colorado monitoring 2 people after monkeypox exposure on flight

Lanie Lee Cook/KDVR

Updated: Jul 27, 2021 / 09:32 AM CDT

BONDUA, LIBERIA – UNDATED: In this 1971 Center For Disease Control handout photo, monkeypox-like lesions are shown on the arm and leg of a female child in Bondua, Liberia. (Photo Courtesy of the CDC/Getty Images)

DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado is monitoring two people who had potential exposure to monkeypox after encountering 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 healthy with no symptoms of infection.ADVERTISING

Travelers are being monitored daily by public health through July 30, which is the end of the monkeypox incubation period, CDPHE said.

The news comes after a Texas man was first diagnosed with the disease in mid-July after he returned to the U.S. from travel in Lagos, Nigeria.

Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus, and it’s only been documented six times outside of Africa, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC says these are the monkeypox symptoms to look out for:

The illness begins with:
- Fever
- Headache
- Muscle aches
- Backache
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Chills
- Exhaustion
Within 1 to 3 days (sometimes longer) after the appearance of fever, the patient develops a rash, often beginning on the face then spreading to other parts of the body.

If you have any questions about how to keep from being infected with the monkeypox virus, visit CDC Prevention.