CDC issues monkeypox warning advising travelers to ‘practice enhanced precautions’
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning travelers to “practice enhanced precautions” as monkeypox spreads.
Monkeypox, a disease that results from infection with the monkeypox virus, a viral illness in the same family as smallpox, has been identified in 16 countries across the globe, including the United States.
The CDC, which issued the Level 2 travel health notice Friday, said on its website that cases had been reported in Europe, North America and Australia.
“Some cases were reported among men who have sex with men,” the CDC said. “Some cases were also reported in people who live in the same household as an infected person.”
According to the World Health Organization, “monkeypox virus is transmitted from one person to another by close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding.”
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What precautions to take if you’re traveling
The CDC advised travelers to avoid:
- Close contact with sick people – including people with skin or genital lesions, and contact with materials used by sick people or animals such as clothing, bedding or health care materials.
- Contact with dead or live animals such as small mammals, including rodents like rats or squirrels, and nonhuman primates such as monkeys and apes.
- Eating or preparing wild game meat or using products that come from wild animals from Africa, such as creams, powders and lotions.
The CDC also advises travelers to wash their hands often with soap and water or use hand sanitizer and keep their hands away from their face.
And if travelers develop a new and unexplained rash (with or without chills and fever), they should avoid contact with other people. The CDC also advises travelers to call ahead before seeking medical attention and, if they can’t call ahead, to tell staff upon arrival that they have concerns about monkeypox.
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Where has monkeypox been identified?
As a part of the health notice, the CDC listed the countries in which cases of monkeypox have been identified:
- United States
- Canada
- Australia
- Belgium
- Austria
- England
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Portugal
- Sweden
- Spain
- Switzerland
- Scotland
- Israel
The health agency also listed some countries where monkeypox is common, including:
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Republic of the Congo
- Central African Republic
- Nigeria
- Cameroon
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Sierra Leone
- Sudan
- Gabon
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As of Monday in the U.S., there was one confirmed case of monkeypox in Massachusetts, CDC spokesperson Dave Daigle told USA TODAY Tuesday. There are an additional four cases of orthopox that the CDC is doing “confirmatory testing” on.
Daigle said states test for orthopoxvirus, the genus to which monkeypox belongs, according to the CDC.
How does monkeypox appear and spread?
While monkeypox is in the same family as smallpox, it is far less dangerous. It appears first as a flu-like illness, with fever, muscle aches and malaise, followed by skin lesions, though the rash may appear first, said Capt. Jennifer McQuiston, a veterinarian and deputy director of the CDC’s Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology.