America is tracking 200 people suspected of being infected with the monkeypox virus before the outbreak of the infection
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US health officials said that more than 200 people in 27 US states are being tracked for possible infection with the rare monkeypox virus.
Officials fear these people may have come into contact with a Texas man who brought the disease from Nigeria earlier this month.
The man, believed to be the first case of monkeypox in the United States since 2003, was hospitalized but is in stable condition.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is concerned that passengers on two flights the man took may have been exposed to the disease.
She added that the patient traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, from Lagos, Nigeria, before taking a flight to Dallas, where the disease appeared and was hospitalized.
It said it was working with airlines to assess "the potential risks to those who may have been in close contact with the traveler".
She explained that the chances of the disease spreading on the plane were low because all passengers are forced to wear masks in accordance with the safety procedures of the Covid-19 virus.
A spokesperson for the CDC told the BBC that they were "cooperating with state and local health departments to monitor individuals who may have been exposed to monkeypox".
Monkeypox is a rare viral disease in the same family as smallpox, but is much less severe.
The disease spreads in remote parts of Central and West African countries, near tropical rainforests.
Although rare, the disease has been discovered in the United States before, and in 2003 it caused 47 confirmed or probable infections, and was linked to mice that were transferred to the country.
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