How easy is it to get monkeypox?

Monkeypox is currently just a fewNew York, California, Illinois state of emergency declaration And the World Health Organization calls it a public health emergency of international concern.

With this epidemic, people are beginning to wonder if they should worry about catching the disease in casual situations, such as trying on clothes in a store (reported that the virus can be transmitted through clothing). (because it is But is it really that easy to get monkeypox?

If I’m not a sexually active gay or biman, should I worry about monkeypox at all?

it is important to know Monkeypox is easily transmitted through sexual contact, but sexual activity is not the main cause of transmission. that’s all how the virus spreadsFor example, if a child has monkeypox, it does not mean that he or she has been sexually abused. In previous outbreaks where people got monkeypox from animals, that doesn’t mean they were having sex with animals.but it’s a virus teeth As it pervades the LGBTQ community, it is important that people in these communities are aware of the risks and act accordingly. prevention Don’t share sex toys or pay attention to your partner’s pain.

As with any infection, the risk depends on many things. One of the main factors is the possibility of encountering someone who is already infected. If you’re a man who lives in New York City or San Francisco and has had a lot of relationships with other men, the chances of you encountering someone who can cause monkeypox are pretty high.

On the other hand, if you don’t live in one of the few urban areas where infection is widespread and don’t belong to a high-risk group, you are much less likely. It’s not zero, but it’s low enough that you don’t need to take special precautions in your daily life.

Can you catch monkeypox from random public places?

Recently, when I was using a public restroom on the highway, I suddenly wondered if monkeypox is something like that. can Caught from the toilet seat. (I was still sitting on the toilet seat, but I made a note to myself to find out later. A social media post warned people that it was no longer safe to try on clothes in stores.) I saw you there

At this point, I wasn’t sure how many of these scenarios were reasonable or paranoid. in the end, The CDC notes that the virus can survive and travel on clothing, bedding, and towels.So I called epidemiologist Kathryn Jacobsen, a professor of health research at the University of Richmond.

She pointed out, first of all, that aside from the state of emergency declaration, there aren’t that many monkeypox cases. If you have monkeypox, it is unlikely that someone with monkeypox will shop at the same store as you. Jeans to bring into the fitting room. Even in a movie theater, the chances of a virus jumping onto your seat, infecting your body, and making you sick are slim.

But let’s say there’s a monkeypox outbreak in your town. Then what? “What we are most concerned about is what infected people have been in contact with for a long time,” she says. The liquid from the wound has enough time to rub into the fabric.

Similarly, studies looking at how long the virus persists on surfaces have been done in places like hospitals, where people are very sick (and therefore can have many lesions), and the bedding and objects in the room are heavily contaminated. Not only do those items have little smudges here and there, but they also have a lot of viruses on them.

Moreover, because of the virus detectable On the surface, it doesn’t mean that you can easily infect someone. In a 2019 survey, Monkeypox has about an 8% chance of spreading only to people in the same household.

Jacobsen isn’t concerned about the examples I’ve listed, but she points out that as an epidemiologist, she’s the kind of person who avoids touching doorknobs or borrowing other people’s jackets.

Where else can monkeypox spread?

We now know that the virus is circulating mainly among men who have sex with men, but we don’t have much information about where else, especially because testing is difficult to access. most positive Not surprisingly, they are in the same population designated as high risk and offered the most testing.

(Jacobsen notes that monkeypox cases with few lesions may be easily mistaken for another disease, but if people outside the MSM community usually show up at the clinic with typical monkeypox symptoms, they should We’re seeing an increase in CDC reports of ‘probable’ or ‘suspected’ cases, pointing out that it would be hard to ignore.)

If this virus spreads, can displayed in other settings. My first thought was daycare. Children are in constant close contact there, and many other diseases are easily spread this way. It says the standard cleaning practices in place can be a good start to control the potential spread of monkeypox, but if the virus spreads further, improved hygiene and child Expect new guidelines on staying home if you suspect you have monkeypox.

She also has MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is another disease transmitted through skin-to-skin contact, Spreads easily between sports teamsplayer to player, and through contaminated surfaces such as wrestling mats.

Collective environments where many people live in close contact with each other have also been suggested as potential monkeypox hotspots.These include places such as nursing homes and prison.

But so far this is all speculation. There is not enough research on monkeypox to know if monkeypox can spread like MRSA or hand, foot and mouth infections in these settings. They seem to have the right ingredients for the virus to spread, but only time will tell for sure.

Is monkeypox airborne?

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was thought that the coronavirus was spread on surfaces (hence all handwashing) and by respiratory droplets of the type that travel only short distances (hence the 6-foot rule). When it was confirmed that the virus could be airborne in smaller droplets, it was considered “airborne” and masks and ventilation became much more important.

So far, monkeypox is not understood to be airborne.this teeth It is understood to be transmitted by respiratory droplets. Both require close contact, making it difficult to study droplet transmission separately from skin-to-skin transmission. , or when the moisture from your breath can land directly on your face,” says Jacobsen.

However, there teeth This is a good reason to wear a mask. That said, we are still in the middle of his COVID-19 pandemic, with more cases than ever before (although thankfully there have been as many deaths as in previous waves). Is not).

When it comes to taking precautions against monkeypox, most of us don’t need to do anything different than we’ve been doing. If the virus spreads further, you’ll want to pay more attention to hand washing and surface disinfection. Sometimes avoiding crowds and wearing long sleeves may not be so paranoid.