Monkeypox, otherwise known as Mpox, has struck a good deal of fear to people internationally. This is mostly because of Covid-19 and how the world responded to Covid-19. While Mpox is relatively new, the main question a lot of people are asking is, should we be worried?

According to the CDC, Monkeypox was discovered in Monkeys in 1958 in Denmark during vaccine research. 12 years later in 1970, the first human case of Mpox occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC.) Also according to the CDC, there have been past outbreaks, whether they were small outbreaks like the 2003 outbreak that occurred in 6 US states with 47 cases or the 2021-2022 outbreak which was bigger in scale.

While Mpox has spread rapidly in a short span of time, it doesn’t spread via coughing, sneezing, and other pathogens, unlike Covid-19 or the flu, it spreads mainly by contact of bodily fluid and skin to skin contact (according to the WHO) which means it most likely won’t reach the level of cases Covid-19 had. Mpox was declared an outbreak on July 25th, then it was declared a global health emergency on Aug. 14th after it spread to multiple nations.

According to the UN, symptoms of Mpox include Rashes that look like blisters in the face, arms, groin, hands, face, eyes, etc. Sores that vary person to person, fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, and swollen lymph nodes.

While Mpox is most likely not going to spread to Lexington, there are still ways you can keep yourself safe, like taking good care of your hygiene, avoiding contact with people that have a rash that looks like it can be Mpox, and cleaning surfaces.

School Nurse Penni Allen shares her thoughts on what students should think about the Mpox pandemic.

“I would not be concerned about it right now, if it’s something that we start seeing, and it revolves around this area we would start sending out information and make people more aware of what to watch for and how to be aware of how to take care of it,” said Allen.

And to answer the question in the beginning, “should we be worried?” Mpox isn’t likely to spread to Rockbridge County, but if it does it won’t likely be a major pandemic.

Fast facts