Monkeypox only spreads through air during ‘SUSTAINED’ face-to-face contact, CDC says
Monkeypox can spread through the air, but only through “continued” face-to-face contact with an infected person, the CDC director revealed Friday as the national infection rate hit 49 cases, and officials in Hawaii say they fear the tropical disease “is” in our community’.
In a briefing Friday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that monkeypox was transmitted through physical contact with symptomatic patients and by touching their clothing and bedding.
But in an effort to clarify whether face masks are necessary to avoid catching the rash-causing virus, the epidemiologist explained that the rash-causing virus wouldn’t “hang in the air” like Covid.
“The disease is not spread through casual conversations, passing others in a supermarket or touching things like doorknobs,” she said. “All the cases we’ve seen in this outbreak so far have involved direct contact.”
At the conference, health officials also called on Americans with sexually transmitted infections — including syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia — to get tested for monkey pox.
They warned that many patients experienced rashes and sores on the genitals and anus that resembled STDs. Several cases of co-infection with monkeypox and a sexually transmitted disease have also been recorded.
The number of monkey pox cases in America has risen to 49 today, with Rhode Island becoming the 15th state to report a case of the disease. Hawaii officials — who reported the third case on Thursday — are now warning that it may already be broadcasting unchecked in their communities.
The update on how the virus is being transmitted came after it posted guidelines for wearing face masks in countries with outbreaks, then was flipped just 13 hours after it was reported by the media.
A total of 49 cases of monkey pox have now been recorded in 15 states in the United States and Washington DC. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most of these are people who have recently returned from abroad
dr. Rochelle Walensky (left), chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said monkeypox could only spread through the air during prolonged face-to-face contact. dr. Jennifer McQuiston (right), who leads the agency’s response, said most cases were in people who had recently traveled
During today’s briefing, Walensky emphasized that the virus only spreads through the air through large droplets emitted by infected people who quickly fall to the ground.
“It can spread through respiratory secretions when people have had personal contact,” she said. †[But] all the cases we’ve seen in this outbreak so far have involved direct contact with patients or materials that have touched them, either through close contact or through sheets and whatnot.”
US army reports first case of monkey pox in soldier in Germany
The US military has reported its first case of monkeypox at a base in Germany.
The soldier – who has not been named – tested positive for the tropical disease at the Stuttgart facility in the southwest of the country.
Military officials have now quarantined the individual until symptoms clear up.
The German authorities have been informed of the matter and contact tracing is underway.
The base in Stuttgart is garrisoned for about 23,000 soldiers.
The US military base in Stuttgart, where the case was reported
After revealing the case, Navy Captain William Speaks said: “We can confirm that a member of the Suttgart military community on duty recently tested positive for monkey pox.
“The individual has been seen and treated at the army clinic in Stuttgart and is currently in isolation.”
Germany has detected 165 cases of monkey pox so far, local officials say.
‘Monkeypox is not thought’ hang in the air.
“If we consider air transfer at the CDC, particles that are emitted can remain in the air for a long time.
“We don’t see any evidence of that in monkeypox, so it really goes through close face-to-face and skin contact.”
She added: ‘This disease can present itself in the same way as other sexually transmitted diseases.
“There have also been cases of co-infection with monkeypox and others, including syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia.
“We tell health care providers that in addition to monkeypox, they should evaluate patients for all STDs, and not rule it out just because someone has monkeypox or another STD.”
The medical literature says that people infected with monkeypox develop flu-like symptoms within the first 21 days of contracting the virus, followed by a rash that appears on the face before spreading to the rest of the body.
But this is rarely seen in the current outbreak, with patients instead seeing rashes appear on the genital areas before developing flu-like symptoms.
In addition to diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia, co-infections have also been identified.
Health officials also revealed that they had distributed more than 1,400 vaccines against the virus to states from their stock of more than a million doses. Another 300,000 doses are expected in the coming weeks.
But some experts have expressed concern that the country may not have enough jabs because if the outbreak becomes widespread, there may not be enough jabs to cover the entire country.
The United States registered eight cases of the virus between Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning as the outbreak continues to grow across the country.
About three in four cases are currently related to international travel, including to Europe, while others are related to someone who has been in close contact with a known case.
But there are “several” patients in multiple states who have tested positive despite not traveling recently or being in contact with a known case.
dr. Jennifer McQuiston, who is leading the CDC’s response to the outbreak, said it was likely they contracted the infection from someone who had recently traveled, but this first case had yet to be spotted.
She added: “I can tell you that at the moment we don’t have an area that appears to have an urban outbreak. There isn’t a single area where there seems to be a lot of community transference.
“But this could change. We have to make sure that our tests increase and be ready to take that when it happens.”
America has done just 300 tests for orthopoxviruses — the family that includes monkeypox — since the outbreak began, despite more than 69 labs available to run thousands of swabs a day.
Officials urge gay and bisexual men to be aware of any new lesions, rashes or scabs and contact a sexual health clinic
The infection often starts with small bumps that cover and are contagious
Health officials are calling on states to send more samples to labs, but states complain the process is “too complicated” because after going to these labs, the swabs must go to the CDC for confirmation.
New York reported two new cases of monkey pox yesterday, while Illinois and Florida reported one and Rhode Island revealed the first infection they said may have been related to travel to Massachusetts.
Hawaii also reported the third case in a week in a person who had not traveled recently, prompting officials to warn that the tropical disease may be spreading undetected in the archipelago.
dr. Elizabeth Char, the state health director, said at a conference yesterday: “[The most recent case] has no travel history. The reason that’s important is that it tells us that monkeypox is likely in our community.”
It came after the CDC backtracked on its advice to call on travelers to wear face masks to protect themselves from monkeypox because it “caused confusion.”
In late Monday, the agency removed this advice from its website, with a spokeswoman telling DailyMail.com it had been removed because they feared it had “caused confusion.”
They emphasized that the advice to wear coverings was “specific to people who travel” rather than the general public, adding that future updates would be accompanied by a public announcement.
The CDC had quietly added advice six days ago to wear coverings to its Level 2 travel warning — encouraging “enhanced precautions” abroad. It was only picked up by Fox news late Monday, among other outlets including CNBC and this website.
One expert said it was “unfortunate” that the CDC drafted and removed the advice, as it would further damage public confidence in the agency.