According to Brazoria County, the infected individual is isolated and recovering at their home in the northern portions of the county. Brazoria County stretches from Freeport in the south through Alvin and north into Pearland.
The monkeypox virus is part of the same family of viruses as variola virus, the virus that causes smallpox, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The monkeypox virus spreads when a person comes into contact with the virus from an infected animal, infected person or materials contaminated with the virus, according to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. The CDC recommends if one has symptoms of monkeypox to talk to their health care provider.
Symptoms include fever; headaches; muscle aches and backache; swollen lymph nodes; chills; exhaustion; and a rash that can look like pimples or blisters that appears on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body, including the hands, feet, chest, genitals or anus, according to the CDC.
The DSHS received and is distributing 14,780 doses of Jynneos, the monkeypox vaccine, throughout the state, according to a July 25 news release.
