What are schools doing to protect kids from monkeypox?

With 17 cases of monkeypox among youth up to 15 years of age already reported across the country, schools across the country are advised to be on the lookout for symptoms of the virus in students.

“They are keeping a close eye on this in their states, and they are paying attention to what their governors and their state health departments are saying – and they are keeping it on their radar,” said Noel Elerson NG, school superintendent The association’s associate executive director of advocacy and governance told CNN.

Ng said schools should continue to follow infectious disease protocols imposed for the COVID-19 pandemic, and may “review, consume and integrate” new monkeypox-specific guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Huh.

“Does every school in the country have a policy of monkeypox? No,” she said in an interview posted on Thursday by the cable news channel. “Most schools in the country have an infectious disease policy and regulations.”

CDC’s guidance on monkeypox for schools and other settings serving children and teens states that although the current outbreak is linked to sexual contact, “monkeypox virus can infect anyone — including children — if they have close, Personal, often skin-to-skin contact with someone who has monkeypox.”

Less common, the agency says, is the spread of the virus by touching “contaminated objects (such as toys or eating utensils), clothing (clothing, bedding, sleeping mats or towels) and surfaces used by someone with monkeypox. is done.”

Schools and other youth settings should continue to follow what the CDC describes as daily measures to reduce disease transmission, such as staying home when sick; wash hands; and regular cleaning and disinfection. A sick child should be evaluated away from others, the agency said, and employees should have personal protective equipment.

Parents, teachers, and staff should be aware of the symptoms of monkeypox, which can mimic the flu and include a rash that develops into a fluid-filled pustule that eventually peels off and falls off. . Youth with symptoms should be seen by a health care provider, the CDC said, and any “stigma and fear-based exclusion” needs to be avoided.

Emma Williams, a spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, said that so far, there are no suspected or confirmed cases of monkeypox among youth in Utah. According to the department, till Thursday, 92 probable and confirmed cases have been reported in the state since May.

Across the country, there have been approximately 17,000 cases of monkeypox, mostly in men who have sex with other men. But children and teens are also contracting the virus, with 130 cases reported by the CDC on Sunday in people aged 20 or younger — including six cases in children older than 5.

Of the 17 cases reported by the CDC in children and adolescents aged 15 and younger, 11 are men and six are women. The first two cases of children getting monkeypox in the US were reported last month in California, and this week in Georgia, an elementary school student tested positive for monkeypox and another was being tested.

Georgia’s Newton County School District said parents of students at the schools involved were notified and “the facilities staff to ensure ongoing safe and healthy learning and work environments for students and staff both this afternoon.” Will thoroughly clean and disinfect classrooms and other areas in schools.”