Monkeypox has spread to 31 countries, with more than 1,000 cases accumulated. The World Health Organization recently held an expert meeting. Some experts pointed out that airborne transmission might not be ruled out. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidelines last week to recommend that people traveling abroad wear masks to prevent infection with the monkeypox virus. On Monday night, the guidelines were deleted. People say this is to avoid confusion.
However, the CDC website still recommends that monkeypox patients wear surgical masks, “especially those with respiratory symptoms,” and says that patients living with the patient and health care workers should consider wearing masks, pointing out that the monkeypox virus is mainly transmitted through direct contact with infectious It is spread by sores, scabs or bodily fluids and “can also be spread through prolonged face-to-face contact and via respiratory secretions”.
The US “New York Times” pointed out that the CDC has retained the recommendation to wear masks, which means that monkeypox may also be spread through the air at close range. Some experts say monkeypox can only spread through “large droplets” released by patients or left on surfaces such as objects, and the virus is unlikely to spread several meters away. However, other experts believe that monkeypox and smallpox belong to the same Orthopoxvirus, and in 1947 in New York and in 1970 in Germany, there were cases of suspected airborne transmission of smallpox patients. Virus expert Mark Challberg said that many people think that smallpox is spread through large droplets, but sometimes it can also be spread through smaller aerosol particles, so monkeypox can also be ruled out.
Originally published on AM730 https://www.am730.com.hk/international/cdc recommends deleting following wearing a mask-Experts do not rule out airborne transmission of monkeypox/323130