Should You Wear a Mask to Help Prevent Mpox?
Infectious disease experts weigh in on how much—if any—protection face masks can provide against mpox, formerly called monkeypox, and which modes of transmission are most common.
Mpox, formerly called monkeypox, is a virus that spreads through person-to-person contact. Masks are recommended for people diagnosed with mpox, for those in close contact or living with a person with mpox, and for healthcare workers caring for mpox patients. Masks are not typically needed among the general population because transmission requires close contact.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sparked confusion about this in June 2024 when the agency recommended travelers wear masks to protect against the spread of monkeypox—and then changed this recommendation.
"Wearing a mask can help protect you from many diseases, including monkeypox," the CDC said in a June 6, 2024 update to its Travelers' Health website. But within hours, that guidance was taken down. "Late yesterday, CDC removed the mask recommendation from the monkeypox Travel Health Notice because it caused confusion," a CDC spokesperson told Reuters the next day.
Are Masks Effective Against Mpox?
Masking is standard operating procedure for medical professionals, but it may not be necessary in a community setting, Luis Ostrovsky, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas, told Health. Mpox is not known to be transmitted via respiratory spread alone.
"If you're taking care of a patient that had [mpox], we would require masking with N95s and gowns, gloves, eye protection, etc. Because again, we're dealing with body fluids, and we may be exposed to aerosols in close proximity," said Dr. Ostrovsky. "But at this point, I don't think there's enough evidence for requiring masking in the community for it."
For those who are sick with mpox or those who live with someone infected with mpox, that advice changes. Since prolonged, close-contact exposure may heighten the likelihood of respiratory transmission, caregivers may consider masking—with an N95, but surgical masks may work too. However, the most important prevention strategies are limiting skin-to-skin contact with an infected person, hand washing, and sanitation procedures to keep shared spaces or objects clean.
"I would mask, just as I would in a COVID case," Andrew Noymer, PhD, associate professor of population health and disease prevention at the University of California, Irvine, told Health. He added that more effective preventative measures include frequently laundering bedding and clothing worn by a person infected with mpox, disinfecting countertops, and cleaning toilets. The most recent cases have shown more concentrated lesions around the rectal and genital areas, so anything in a restroom may need extra sanitation.
What Is Mpox?
Mpox is an infection, formerly called monkeypox. It is caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV). It usually causes a rash and flu-like symptoms. Typically, symptoms typically show up within 21 days of exposure and may include:
- Chills
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Headache
- Muscle aches
- Rash
- Respiratory symptoms like sore throat, cough, stuffy nose
- Swollen lymph nodes
The rash is often located on the hands, feet, chest, face, mouth, or near the genitals. It may look like pimples or blisters before scabbing over. The lesions may be itchy or painful.
How Does Mpox Spread?
Mpox spreads a few different ways, but it's transmitted most easily through intimate or skin-to-skin contact, Andrew Noymer, PhD, associate professor of population health and disease prevention at the University of California, Irvine, told Health.
Mpox can also be transmitted through contact with contaminated objects or surfaces, such as shared bedsheets. Infected animals can also pass the virus but animals in the United States do not have mpox. A person with mpox is contagious from the time the rash appears until it has fully healed.
Is Mpox a Sexually Transmitted Infection?
Mpox can be transmitted during sexual activity, and the majority of the 2024 outbreak is linked to men who have sex with men. Mpox may be classified as a sexually transmitted infection (STI), however, it can also be contracted outside of sex. "Many of these cases were spread through intimate encounters, but that's only because intimate encounters involve skin-to-skin contact, not because of anything exclusively sexual," said Noymer.
While direct contact is the most common way for mpox to spread, it's not the only way, said Noymer, who explained that mpox lesions could form in the respiratory tract before appearing on other body parts. When those lesions seep, there is the potential for transmission via droplets, especially in very close contact.
Although those droplets can spread mpox, their infection vector is limited by their size and weight. The droplets are much larger than the aerosol particles we associate with COVID-19, so they are limited in how far they can travel due to gravity, said Dr. Ostrovsky.
"Droplets by their size tend to travel no more than six feet because of gravity," said Dr. Ostrovsky. For infection to take hold, people would have to be within six feet for a prolonged period of time in most cases.
Mpox can also spread through touching items, like clothing and sheets, that have also come into contact with mpox lesions or bodily fluids. Pregnant people are also able to pass the virus to their fetus through the placenta.
How To Protect Against Mpox
As mpox case counts continue to rise in the U.S., health officials are urging a state of awareness—but not panic—regarding the disease.
Anyone who has a rash that looks like it could be mpox—i.e., small pimples or blisters—should contact their healthcare provider, even if they aren't aware of any close contact with another infected person.
To further avoid mpox infection, people should avoid contact with anyone who may have the virus, as well as any materials or surfaces they may have touched. It's also important to practice good hygiene—handwashing, cleaning surfaces—and isolate from or wear personal protective equipment around someone who has the infection.
Because the highest concentration of cases right now are among men who have sex with men—though mpox is not officially a sexually transmitted infection—the CDC has also issued guidance for safer sex practices during the mpox situation, including having virtual sex and limiting the number of partners to help reduce the spread.
Though mpox is typically self-limiting—meaning it can clear up on its own—the disease is still considered contagious until mpox lesions and scabs have completely healed and a new layer of skin has formed over the affected areas. This can take about two to four weeks, during which contact and sharing items should be avoided.
When To Contact a Healthcare Provider
Call a healthcare provider if you have been exposed or show symptoms of mpox. It's also recommended to contact them if you have questions or concerns about contracting mpox. A vaccine is available and recommended for those in higher-risk populations.
A Quick Review
Monkeypox, which is now called mpox, is an infection caused by the monkeypox virus. The best way to prevent mpox is to avoid skin-to-skin contact with people who have the infection. Masks are recommended for people infected with mpox during their illness and for healthcare workers and close or household contacts of people with mpox. See a healthcare provider if you have a rash with flu-like symptoms or have been exposed to mpox.
This story originally appeared on: Health News - Author:Rachel Murphy
