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What You Need to Know About Monkeypox

Monkeypox does not come from monkeys. It is called monkeypox because it was first isolated from a monkey in Africa. Monkeypox has been around for decades and is a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus.  In 2022, the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency since monkeypox had spread to many countries through social interactions and intimate contacts.

How is Monkeypox Spread?

Monkeypox is spread by close contact and exposure to an infected person's respiratory droplets, skin lesions or bodily fluids.

How Can Monkeypox be Prevented?

  • Avoid close, skin- to- skin contact with people who have a rash that looks like monkeypox.
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
  • In Central and West Africa, avoid contact with animals that can spread monkeypox virus, usually rodents and primates. Also, avoidsick or dead animals, as well as bedding or other materials they have touched.

What are Monkeypox Symptoms?

Monkeypox symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches and backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion, and a rash that can look like pimples or blisters that appears on the face, inside the mouth, and on other body parts, like the hands, feet, chest genitals, or anus. The rash goes through different stages before healing completely. Symptoms usually appear one to two weeks after infection.

What Should You Do If You Have Monkeypox Symptoms?

  • See a healthcare provider if you notice a new or unexplained rash or other monkeypox symptoms.Remind the healthcare provider that monkeypox is circulating.
  • Avoid close contact (including intimate physical contact) with others until a healthcare provider examines you.
  • Avoid close contact with pets or other animals until a healthcare provider examines you.
  • If you’re waiting for test results, follow the same precautions.
  • If your test result is positive, stay isolated until your rash has healed, all scabs have fallen off, and a fresh layer of intact skin has formed.

What To Do If You Believe You Were Exposed to Monkeypox?

People who were exposed to monkeypox should visit a healthcareprovider to test for monkeypox. If you believe you were exposed to monkeypox, please call 210-207-8876, Monday-Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. San Antonio Metropolitan Health District is working to acquire additional doses to expand the availability of the monkeypox vaccine.  

When Should Someone Get Tested for Monkeypox?
People who think they have monkeypox or have had close personal contact with someone who has monkeypox should visit a healthcareprovider to help them decide if they need to be tested for monkeypox. If your healthcare provider decides that you should be tested, they will work with you to collect the specimens and send them to a laboratory for testing. If you believe you were exposed to monkeypox, please call 210-207-8876, Monday-Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. San Antonio Metropolitan Health District is working to acquire additional doses to expand the availability of the monkeypox vaccine.  

What Should You Do While You Are Pending Monkeypox Test Results?

  • Avoid close contact (including intimate physical contact) with others.
  • Avoid close contact with pets or other animals.

What Should You Do If You Test Positive For Monkeypox?

If your test result is positive, stay isolated from others and pets until your rash has healed, all scabs have fallen off, and a fresh layer of intact skin has formed.

How Long Does Monkeypox Typically Last?

The illness typically lasts 2-4 weeks. Sometimes, people get a rash first, followed by other symptoms, while others only experience a rash.

What is the Severity of Monkeypox?

While monkeypox cases spreading globally in 2022 can cause severe disease, the infection most often clears up on its own and is rarely fatal.

Monkeypox Vaccine Availability

Supplies of the vaccine against monkeypox are limited at this time. Currently in Bexar County, San Antonio Metropolitan Health District is providing vaccines to individuals who:

  • Were exposed and were identified through contact tracing,
  • Are presumed exposures who:
    • Know that a sexual partner in the past 14 days was diagnosed with monkeypox, or
    • Attended an event or venue in the past 14 days and had a high-risk of exposure to someone with confirmed monkeypox through skin-to-skin or sexual contact.

What Resources Are Available?

The monkeypox infection continues to spread, but because transmission requires close personal contact, the rate is much slower than that of SARS-CoV-2 virus (the coronavirus that causes COVID-19) and causes fewer cases.

Monkeypox content adopted from Johns Hopkins Medicine and San Antonio Metropolitan Health District