Schools making plans for virus
Districts, universities working with local health advisers to be prepared
Though there are only a handful of confirmed monkeypox cases in the Lehigh Valley, administrators at local school districts, as well as those at colleges and universities, have started discussing how to respond if students or staff become infected with the virus during the upcoming school year.
While districts are awaiting formal guidance from the state Department of Education or Department of Health, colleges and universities have turned to prevention, by educating students on how monkeypox spreads.
Districts and post-secondary institutions in the Lehigh Valley are collaborating with local health networks and health bureaus on how best to monitor and respond to monkeypox, administrators said.
“The whole point of getting this education out is not to scare people and not to alarm people,” said Dr. Steven Bowers, Lehigh University’s medical director. “You have to be aware of what’s going on if you’re going to address it, and do it the correct way.”
Monkeypox is like a
milder form of smallpox in many ways, but is rarely deadly. There have been no confirmed deaths from monkeypox in the U.S. and very few infections have resulted in hospitalizations.
Though overall spread of monkeypox is still relatively low nationwide, it is showing no signs of stopping. The number of confirmed cases in the U.S. tripled in the last three weeks. As of Wednesday, there were 12,689 reported cases of monkeypox in the U.S. and 353 in Pennsylvania, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Monkeypox is not as contagious as COVID19.
While there are two vaccines for monkeypox, supplies are highly limited, and it could take until the end of the year for there to be enough to counter the virus. At present, community monitoring and mitigation strategies are the best bet to contain the spread.
Though the CDC has some guidelines related to monkeypox monitoring at the community level, it has yet to issue guidance for schools. For now, schools and colleges are working with local health advisers to come up with monkeypox plans.
Kristen Wenrich, director of the Bethlehem Health Bureau, said the bureau is providing guidance to Bethlehem Area School District and is in contact with Lehigh and Moravian universities. Genesis Ortega, spokesperson for Allentown, said the Allentown Health Bureau is providing guidance to Allentown School District.
Marissa Lewicki, a St. Luke’s spokesperson, said it is providing guidance to area districts, but would not say which ones.
Wenrich said monkeypox is a greater concern at colleges and universities. With many students living in congregate settings, like dorms or multiperson apartments, as well as partying and casual sex, there are plenty of ways for monkeypox to spread among students.
“Here’s the issue with college campuses: ... It’s such close quarters, so if there’s somewhere where there’s a potential for a spread, it would be here, but it’s still not very contagious,” Lehigh’s Bowers said, noting something as
simple as sharing clothing could spread monkeypox.
Jamie Stover, spokesperson for LVHN, said The Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges has started discussing monkeypox at its monthly meetings, which LVHN attends.
Bowers said Lehigh is monitoring monkeypox and making sure students are aware of the disease. The university updated the Health & Wellness Center page of its website with information from the CDC and sent an email to students this month with basic facts about monkeypox.
Bowers said if students think they may have monkeypox, they should isolate and contact the Health & Wellness Center to be evaluated. He added that someone with monkeypox is contagious from the time they start developing symptoms, such as a rash or fever, until the symptoms disappear, which can take four weeks.
He said professors understand the importance of isolating if a student gets monkeypox, and
students will have virtual options for completing work if needed.
“The good and bad thing about this is it’s taking place while COVID just occurred and is still going on, so all these virtual options are still in place,” he said. “The professors should have that set up for students.”
Cedar Crest College is carefully monitoring the spread of monkeypox, Calley Stevens Taylor, the dean of students, said in a statement. She said the college is devising a strategy to educate its community on how to prevent the spread of monkeypox, as well as plans to care for infected students. Cedar Crest would not share details about its strategies or plans.
Kristine Todaro, spokesperson for Muhlenberg College, said the school is monitoring monkeypox and is in touch with local hospital networks and the Allentown Health Bureau. She said the college would be closely watching for new guidance from the CDC and the American College Health Association.
Area secondary schools are also preparing, just in case.
Michael Mahon, superintendent of Southern Lehigh School District, said administrators are monitoring monkeypox, but districts have not received specific advice from the state. However, he said, local districts may be better prepared to handle monkeypox outbreaks because of their experiences with COVID-19.
“Coming out of the pandemic, public school districts are way better at a lot of things than they were before,” Mahon said, noting Southern Lehigh adopted a policy on immunizations and communicable diseases in the last year.
Wenrich said, as with COVID19, the health bureau would take the lead on investigating, contact tracing and informing relevant parties of any cases or suspected cases at Bethlehem Area, Lehigh or Moravian. For now, though, the health bureau’s primary role is surveillance.
“Due to the fact of how monkeypox is spread, mainly through close personal skin-to-skin contact or can be spread through bodily fluids, we’re not really concerned at this point about spread in the school environment,” Wenrich said.
Fewer than 10 cases of monkeypox have been confirmed among children in the U.S. Still, Wenrich said the health bureau is working with school nurses on ways to educate parents about signs and symptoms, like the telltale lesions.
Monkeypox is primarily found in monkeys and rodents, but has been infecting humans since at least 1970. It is transmitted from animal to person or person to person through close physical contact, specifically when an uninfected person comes in direct contact with a monkeypox rash, scabs or body fluids.
Monkeypox can be spread through most forms of sexual or intimate contact, but it is not a sexually transmitted infection. It can also be contracted by touching objects, fabrics and surfaces that have been used by someone with monkeypox and that have not been disinfected. There are still lingering questions about how easily it can be spread outside of sexual contact though, including in settings like crowded outdoor events.
Monkeypox has an incubation period of one to two weeks, during which the person carrying the virus is not believed to be infectious. Though current guidance states people exposed to monkeypox are safe to continue their lives normally as long as they don’t display signs or symptoms, some new evidence from France has thrown this guidance into question.
After the incubation period, flu-like symptoms appear that can include fever, achiness and swollen lymph nodes. A few days later, a rash usually starts on the face before spreading to the rest of the body. Lesions appear and progress through multiple stages over several weeks before scabbing and falling off, according to the CDC. These lesions can appear on the face, in the mouth or on hands, feet, chest, genitals or anus.