Bryan Health officials say they are paying attention to the monkeypox epidemic around the world. Dr. Jim Nora is the medical director for infection prevention and says it’s unlikely that it will turn into the next COVID-19. He says it’s not as easily transmissible as COVID-19 and is more controllable.
“The average incubation time is about two weeks. Compare that to the most recent COVID variants where you only have a couple of days or three days incubation time. There’s much more time to trace contacts and ask people to isolate,” Nora says.
Monkeypox is similar to smallpox and is spread by animal to human transmission as well as human to human contact. He says monkeypox can cause fever, headaches, swollen lymph nodes and a rash on the face that spreads to the lower parts of the body.
There has been a growing number of cases around the world and at least one confirmed case in the United States. Nora says there is no reason for undue alarm right now. “I do think from a public health standpoint, it is important to keep a very close eye on this, and it’s important for clinicians across the state and across the nation to be on the lookout for cases that would meet the case definition of this.”