The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has upgraded the alert level for Monkeypox to a 2 and among other guidelines, has recommended that people start wearing masks even though the virus is spread through close physical contact with animals or humans, their body fluids, or infected skin lesions.
The virus can also be spread through animal bites or eating animal meat in endemic areas.
In addition, Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, a CDC official previously said that the CDC wasn’t worried about the virus being airborne,
“Respiratory spread is not the predominant worry. It is contact and intimate contact in the current outbreak setting and population.”
The CDC upped the alert level as 21 cases have been confirmed in the United States. The alert stated,
“Some cases were reported among men who have sex with men. Some cases were also reported in people who live in the same household as an infected person.”
Secondary infections due to close physical contact in the household happen in just 12.3% of households and in 3.3% of other close contact situations.
Despite what the mainstream media is leading people to believe, the Monkeypox virus has been around for decades. In fact, it was first discovered in 1958 in captive monkeys. It was classified as a non-deadly skin disease similar to smallpox.
Since then the virus has sporadically been found in humans and emerged in the Western Hemisphere in 2003.
The CDC has since removed their recommendation to wear masks, and list on it’s website that the Risk to the general public is low.
See below for original mask wearing guidance that has since been removed.
