In a statement released Thursday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that the transmission of monkeypox by minute virus particles that stay in the atmosphere “has not been recorded.” During face-to-face interaction, it may transmit by “body fluid or respiratory secretions”; however, these secretions “disappear out of the atmosphere fast,” and research has revealed that this route of infection is infrequent.
The monkeypox virus, unlike the other viral infections such as Covid-19 and smallpox, does not have “airborne transmission,” which includes microparticles that stay in the atmosphere or transmit on airflow, according to the CDC. “There have been no recorded incidences of monkeypox in individuals placed nearby people who have had monkeypox on airplanes, even on prolonged overseas trips,” says the study.
However, because monkeypox can transmit via respiratory secretions, the CDC advises contaminated patients to “wear masks if they must be among others in their residences where direct, face-to-face contact is expected.”
Health-care personnel and those who may come into direct contact with contaminated individuals should also wear masks.
According to previous CDC recommendations, wearing masks could protect tourists from monkeypox, but the advice was withdrawn late Monday since it “created uncertainty,” according to the agency.
According to the guideline, the virus often spreads through contact with a contaminated patient’s body fluids, such as blood or wounds, or through infected things such as clothes. Other possible spreading pathways are still being researched, including exposure to an infected individual’s sperm or encounter with a contaminated individual who doesn’t show symptoms.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 45 possible or recorded incidents of monkeypox across 15 states, including the District of Columbia, as of Thursday afternoon.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has received confirmation of 1,356 cases reported in 31 regions where the virus isn’t prevalent.
