Travelers Possibly Exposed To Monkeypox On Flight

DENVER, CO — Colorado's state public health agency is monitoring two people who may have been exposed to monkeypox on a flight.

The two travelers will be monitored for the length of the monkeypox incubation period, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said. They have shown no symptoms of the rare disease, public health officials said.

A Dallas man was diagnosed with monkeypox in July after he flew back from Nigeria. Public health officials investigated the case and traced all possible contacts, which were few, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The virus is not easily transmitted from one person to another.

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Monkeypox — which is similar to smallpox but milder — causes a fever, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, a headache, chills, exhaustion and back aches, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The incubation period for monkeypox is usually two weeks, the agency said. The monitoring period for the two people in Colorado is set to end Friday, state public health officials said.