Texas Health Department Reports First Death of Person Diagnosed With Monkeypox, Investigation Underway

The Texas Department of State Health Services said Tuesday it had confirmed the first death of a person diagnosed with monkeypox in the state.

As CBS News and others have since pointed out, this indeed marks the first official confirmation of a person with monkeypox having died amid an outbreak declared to be a public health emergency by the White House. The person confirmed to have died in Texas was a “severely immunocompromised” adult, the state’s health department said. And as the department’s commissioner Dr. John Hellerstedt further pointed out, monkeypox is a “particularly” serious disease for people with weakened immune systems.

“We continue to urge people to seek treatment if they have been exposed to monkeypox or have symptoms consistent with the disease,” Dr. Hellerstedt said Tuesday. 

The death is now the subject of an investigation, upon completion of which local health authorities will make a formal determination as to the official cause of death. A CDC rep told CBS News that it would be “premature” to give a cause of death until said investigation is done.

As for the aforementioned public health emergency declaration from the Biden-Harris administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said at the time the designation would help in the larger national response to monkeypox concerns.

“Ending the monkeypox outbreak is a critical priority for the Biden-Harris Administration,” Becerra said earlier this month. “We are taking our response to the next level by declaring a public health emergency.”

On Tuesday, the White House Monkeypox Response Team, as well as other public health officials, held a press briefing to provide updates on where the effort currently stands. See more below.