Person at a Fort Worth school district high school tests positive for monkeypox virus

A person who studies or works at Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth has tested positive for monkeypox, the Fort Worth Independent School District said on Friday.

The district did not say whether the person is a student or a district employee or release his or her condition.

As a precaution, sanitizing at the high school began immediately, the district said. Tarrant County Public Health notified the district of the case.

A letter was sent to parents and staff to notify them of the case. Arlington Heights parents should monitor their children’s health for the next 21 days and contact their medical provider if symptoms emerge.

Monkeypox symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion and a rash that looks like pimples or blisters.

The district said it was working with Tarrant County public health employees to investigate the case.

Jerry Moore, the district’s chief of schools, was asked during an Aug. 2 townhall hosted via telephone by U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey about the district’s procedure for mitigating the spread of monkeypox.

“What we do know is many of the safety and healthy protocols that we have in place related to COVID, social distancing, frequent hand washing, hand sanitizer stations around the building, which we will continue to have in place this year, will be additional measures in place that will help address monkeypox as well,” Moore said.

Staff writer Eleanor Dearman contributed to this report.