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Onondaga County has not reported any additional cases of monkeypox since announcing its first case on Aug. 10, according to Donna White, the Director of Disease Control for the Onondaga County Health Department.

But despite the lack of the virus’ spread, White said the county is monitoring the disease as students return to college campuses.

“We don’t have any concerns really at this time,” she said. “It’s a wait and see kind of a thing. We don’t really know what the future is going to hold with the students returning.”

Even with the “wait and see” approach, experts identified several ways individuals can protect themselves from contracting monkeypox and are developing precautionary protocols.

Dr. David Larsen, an associate professor in Syracuse University’s Falk College, explained in an email that the concern that monkeypox could spread on college campuses is due to the increased close contact and bodily friction students typically experience compared to non-college students.

To avoid what Larsen calls “friction transmission,” he recommended reducing sexual contacts, especially the number of different partners, as well as crowded situations like concerts and dance halls. He noted that condoms do not prevent monkeypox transmission.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not consider monkeypox a sexually transmitted disease, but it typically spreads through close and sustained physical contact, which can include sexual activities.

Larsen also wrote that monkeypox can be spread via surfaces including sheets and other linens, so regular hand-washing along with washing sheets and towels is another way to reduce the chances of contracting the virus.

According to a university spokesperson, SU has prepared on-campus isolation housing for any students who may contract the virus, both those living in on-campus residence halls and off-campus students, as long as space permits.

The spokesperson added that some students may opt to go home to isolate themselves instead. According to the CDC, isolation should last for the duration of the illness, which can be anywhere from two to four weeks.

The spokesperson added in a statement to The D.O. that the university is ready to provide medical and academic support to students as well.

SU is also working with OCHD to direct eligible students to vaccination resources, as New York state and local health departments are the only organizations able to administer the vaccine at this time, the spokesperson wrote.

OCHD will continue to work with the Barnes Center to test and treat monkeypox and conduct contact tracing, utilizing the same relationships the two organizations developed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, White said.

Per the spokesperson, staff at the Barnes Center at The Arch have also met regularly, participated in state training for detecting and treating monkeypox and reviewed all CDC guidance.

However, beyond offering the vaccine to close contacts of the one detected case, the county does not currently have any additional vaccine clinics planned. According to White, residents who received the first shot of the monkeypox vaccine at the Aug. 10 vaccine clinic will receive the second shot at another clinic four weeks later on Sep. 7.

The county received 600 doses of the vaccine, 300 first shots and 300 second shots, according to a press release.

In order to be eligible for the vaccine, residents must be gay or bisexual men, transgender, gender non-conforming, gender non-binary or be a man who has sex with other men. Additionally, only people age 18 or older who have multiple or anonymous sex partner in the last two weeks are eligible.

According to White, individuals filled out an online survey to confirm they met the qualifications for the vaccine. Once they arrived at the Aug. 10 clinic, workers again asked similar questions.

At an Aug. 10 press conference to announce the first reported case of monkeypox in the county, County Executive Ryan McMahon said that the strict requirements to be eligible for the vaccine were due to the county’s limited supply.

McMahon said that testing availability was not an issue at that time, and Stacy Fontana, a nurse practitioner at OCHD, said that any urgent care location or doctor can administer tests.

Larsen wrote in an email to The D.O. that due to the limited supply, vaccines are being deployed strategically to “interrupt chains of transmission.”

“At this point (there’s) no need to try to get a vaccine until the county health department tells you personally,” he wrote.

He furthered that declining cases of monkeypox in New York City and Europe may be evidence that the control strategy for the virus is working. The seven-day average of cases in New York City has fallen from 71 on Aug. 1 to 15 as of Aug. 18, according to the New York City Department of Health.

“I just hope that people are following the education advice that’s been put out and monitoring themselves,” White said.

Published on August 21, 2022 at 10:15 pm

Contact Danny: ddamron@syr.edu | @dannyamron_