Daddyland party-goer diagnosed with monkeypox

Dallas County Health and Human Services announced today (Wednesday, July 6) that “an out-of-state visitor who was in town for the Daddyland Festival” held in Dallas over the July 4th weekend has been confirmed to have monkeypox. The individual, who went to an area hospital with a rash, was diagnosed through laboratory testing. According to a HHS press release, “Given the size of the Daddyland Festival, others who attended the events could have been exposed to monkeypox and. possibly, infected.” The press release continued, “The individual reported attendance at Daddyland Festival events and private parties while infectious,” which raises “a concern for local, community transmission for anyone who attended these events and participated in activities that pose a high risk for monkeypox transmission.”

HHS officials noted that in all four reported cases of monkeypox among Dallas County residents, those diagnosed with the infection “self-identified as men who have sex with other men and reported a history of international travel.” But they stressed that anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, can spread the infection through contact with bodily fluids, monkeypox sores or shared items such as clothing or bedding. The virus can also spread through respiratory droplets. The HHS press release concludes: “Nationally, many monkeypox cases are occurring within sexual networks. People who attended the Daddyland Festival parties — including men who have sex with men, people who use social media applications to find sex partners and those who have had skin-to-skin contact with people with sores or other symptoms of monkeypox — should be aware of the risk and seek medical attention if they develop symptoms of monkeypox.” Symptoms can include fever, swollen lymph nodes and general body aches before a rash develops. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Currently there is no treatment approved specifically for monkeypox virus infections. However, antivirals developed for use in patients with smallpox may prove beneficial against monkeypox.”