Header Ads Widget

Responsive Advertisement

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it is concerned passengers who were on board two flights the man made may have been exposed to the disease. He flew into Atlanta, Georgia from Lagos, Nigeria on 9 July, before taking a flight to Dallas, where he was hospitalised, the CDC said. It said it was working with the airlines to assess "potential risks to those who may have had close contact with the traveller". But the chances of the disease spreading on the plane were low because passengers had to wear face masks, it added. A CDC spokesperson told the BBC it was "working with state and local health departments to follow up with individuals who may have been exposed to monkeypox". "The risk to the general public is thought to be low," the spokesperson said, adding that none of the 200 people they were monitoring were thought to be "high risk". Monkeypox is a rare viral disease from the same family as smallpox, but is much less severe. It occurs mostly in remote parts of central and west African countries, near tropical rainforests. The symptoms include: Initially fever, headaches, swellings, back pain, aching muscles and a general listlessness. Once the fever breaks, a rash can develop, often beginning on the face then spreading to other parts of the body, most commonly the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. The rash, which can be extremely itchy, changes and goes through different stages before finally forming a scab, which later falls off. The lesions can cause scarring. Most cases of the virus are mild, sometimes resembling chickenpox, and clear up on their own within a few weeks. Monkeypox can sometimes be more severe, however, with one in 100 cases being deadly, according to the CDC. Though rare, the disease has been discovered in the US before. A 2003 outbreak caused 47 confirmed or probable cases, and was linked to rats flown into the country. Last month, three cases were identified in










  Anger is growing in Australia as 13 million people - about half the population - endure fresh lockdowns to quash Covid outbreaks.

A third state went into lockdown on Tuesday. Stay-at-home orders are now in place in South Australia, Victoria and parts of New South Wales.

Many people have expressed frustration at being back in highly policed lockdowns 18 months into the pandemic.

And re-openings in the UK and the US have put pressure on the government.

Fewer than 14% of people are vaccinated - the worst rating among OECD nations.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been heavily criticised over the slow vaccination rate, but has resisted calls to apologise.

"No country has got their pandemic response 100%," he told reporters on Wednesday.

He again mentioned Australia's success in keeping overall infections low compared to those in many nations.

915 people have died of Covid in Australia. Mr Morrison noted that the UK had recorded more than 90 deaths in a single day on Tuesday.

Until recently, Australia's strategy of border closures, quarantine programmes and snap lockdowns helped keep cases low. But the highly contagious Delta variant has challenged these defences in the past month.

The outbreak in Sydney - Australia's largest city - has infected more than 1,500 people and officials reported more than 110 new cases on Wednesday, despite the city being in lockdown for a fourth week.

There are fears Sydney's lockdown could extend into September.

Australian authorities have said they intend to eliminate local cases completely until a majority of people are vaccinated, but in Sydney eliminating cases could take months.

Victoria - which saw 22 new infections on Wednesday - will keep its lockdown until at least Tuesday.

And in south Australia a seven-day lockdown has been called after five cases of the Delta variant were found.

Last month, a total of seven cities were in lockdown for a brief period.

Critics say flawed reports about the AstraZeneca vaccine's rare clotting risk have made many Australians reluctant to take it.

Australia only has limited supplies of its other authorised vaccine, from Pfizer.

media captionSydney extends lockdown to fight Delta outbreak

More on this story

Post a Comment

0 Comments