The CDC Issues a Travel Warning for Monkeypox
byDaniel McCarthy/
一个nother viral disease is making headlines this week, and while it is not impacting travel, authorities in the U.S. have issued a new travel warning in light of its spread.
Monkeypox, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is a disease with symptoms similar to but milder than smallpox. So far, dozens of cases have been confirmed in Europe, and at least two have been confirmed in the U.S. and another two in Canada.
The main symptoms of monkeypox are fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, chills, and exhaustion, along with a rash that often begins on the face and then spreads to other parts of the body within 1 to 3 days (or sometimes longer) of infection. The disease also causes swollen lymph nodes, the main difference between it and smallpox.
根据疾病预防控制中心(CDC)的说法,这种疾病通常持续两到四个星期,在被感染的人中多达1%至11%的人可能致命。
该疾病已经存在了数十年,并出现在通常发生的中部或西非外面,每年都有少量。没有一个新案件与前往这些地区的旅行有关,这些地区刺激了本周的旅行通知。
The World Health Organization (WHO) said this week that while a lot of the spread, especially in Europe, seems to have come from sexual intercourse, the disease is spread through close contact with people, with the virus entering the body through broken skin, eyes, nose, or mouth.
Travel warning
In light of the spread, however small, the CDC this week issued a travel warning for moneybox. The travel warning is级别2:实践增强的预防措施.
疾病预防控制中心并不告诉旅行者避免由于传播而出行案件的16个国家,而是建议旅行者谨慎行事并注意症状。一个full list of the countries that have cases can be found here.
The warning advises travelers to avoid “close contact with sick people, including those with skin lesions or genital lesions” and to also avoid “contract with dead or live animals such as small mammals including rodents (rats, squirrels) and non-human primates (monkeys, apes).”
It is also recommending washing hands with soap and water, keeping your hands away from your eyes, nose, and mouth, and avoiding close contact with people who are sick.
Even with the warning, is important to remember, especially in light of COVID-19, that the risk to the general public with monkeypox is low. Travelers should seek medical care immediately “if you develop new, unexplained skin rash (lesions on any part of the body), with or without fever and chills.”