As children and teens continue to return to classrooms, questions are being raised about the risk K-12 schools are facing when it comes to the spread of monkey pox.
More than 18,400 cases have been diagnosed in the United States from mid-May through Wednesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Most of the cases have occurred among men who have sex with men, a group that includes people who identify as gay, bisexual, transgender and non-binary. However, the CDC has said that anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, is at risk of contracting monkeypox if they come into close personal contact with a patient.
Of those cases, 31 have been in children, according to state officials across the country. Texas has the most confirmed pediatric cases with nine, followed by California with six and Georgia with three.
Although the risk to most children is low, school officials are on the lookout for possible infections.
“So superintendents are obviously aware of monkeypox,” Noelle Ellerson Ng, associate executive director for advocacy and governance at AASA, the Association of School Superintendents, told ABC News.
Monkeypox cases among US children
State and county health departments
Ng said most schools he has spoken with are not currently creating new health guidelines to address monkeypox because they already had policies and strategies in place for communicable diseases, many of which were recently used to address COVID-19. 19.
“So it’s making sure they’re up to date, that they know what they are, that their school health staff knows about them,” he said. “And then just diligence on behalf of the administrative team and the health team to know what the state and local health policy guidance is and then fill in with the CDC guidance and recommendations.”
Two weeks ago, before most children returned to school, the CDC published monkeypox guidance for K-12 schools, day care centers, and other settings serving children and teens.
The federal health agency said the risk of illness for most Americans under the age of 18 is low, but that schools “must follow their daily operational guidance that reduces the transmission of infectious diseases.” Examples include staying home when sick, proper handwashing etiquette, and “routine cleaning and disinfecting practices.”
The CDC also recommends that schools check with their local or state health departments if they have questions about what to do if someone develops symptoms and tests for monkeypox, as well as notify parents if a case is diagnosed among a student or an adult.
Linda Mendonça, president of the National Association of School Nurses, said the guide has been especially helpful for school nurses, who are often asked to relay health information to the community.
“That’s certainly helpful to have, and it gives us talking points and information to share with our school communities,” Mendonça told ABC News. “For example, by letting them know, parents know to keep kids home when they’re sick, to make sure we’re washing our hands, cleaning and disinfecting and doing all those things that we would do for just about any kind of infectious situation that we might have in the school environment.
Some schools have already announced that they are following these policies. On Monday, Fort Bend Independent School District in Texas announced that a high school student had tested positive for monkeypox.
The district said it will keep up with established cleaning protocols in places for schools, including the use of UV-C sanitizing lamps, which use ultraviolet light, in classrooms and other facilities.
Parents and families walk their children to Cordova Park Elementary School on the first day of school, Aug. 10, 2022, in Florida.
Tony Giberson/[email protected] via USA Today Network
Last week, after two elementary school students tested positive for Newton County School System in Georgia, the district said parents were notified and parents they considered close contacts would receive information on next steps.
“NCSS facilities employees will be thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting classrooms and other areas at both schools this afternoon to ensure a safe and healthy learning and working environment for students and staff. Both schools will be open tomorrow,” he said. the district in a statement.
According to the CDC, as of August 21, of 151 cases of monkeypox in people under the age of 20, only 17 have been in those 15 years and under.
Dr. Perry Halkitis, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health, told ABC News that while there is a transmission risk from touching infected bedding, towels, or clothing of a monkeypox patient or contaminated surfaces, the riskiest mode of transmission is sexual encounters with someone who has positive or prolonged skin-to-skin contact with an infected person.
“Of the children that there are, what worries me the most are the adolescents who start to have sexual behaviors,” he said. “It usually starts like [ages] 15, 16, 17, 18. Those are the kids I would worry about the most.”
“The parents who should be the most mindful, the most mindful, the ones who should be having the most open conversations with their children are the ones who potentially have children who engage in really intimate behavior with others, which could lead to smallpox transmission.” of the monkey,” he said. additional.
However, while she encourages parents to ask questions about what schools are doing to make sure children are generally protected, she advises parents not to panic.
“I think the most important thing I would say to these parents is to be aware that we are still dealing with something called COVID-19, that there will be a new booster available sometime in the fall,” Halkitis said. “Let’s talk about whether or not your child is vaccinated for that.”
