Content of the article
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Tuesday it had removed a mask recommendation from its smallpox travel warning to avoid “confusion” about the disease, which spreads primarily through direct contact.
“At the last minute, the CDC removed the mask recommendation from the monkeypox travel health warning because it caused confusion,” a CDC spokesman said Tuesday.
The agency had previously suggested that travelers wear masks, as they can help protect themselves from “many diseases, including monkeypox.”
According to the CDC website, while the disease is spread primarily through direct contact with infectious sores, scabs, or body fluids, “it can also be spread by respiratory secretions during prolonged face-to-face contact.”
Around 30 countries where monkeypox is not endemic have reported outbreaks of viral disease, with more than 911 confirmed or suspected cases, mostly in Europe. (Report by Mrinalika Roy, Leroy Leo in Bangalore and Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago; Maju Samuel Edition)