CDC Says Monkeypox Only Spreads through Air During Face to Face Contact

As the number of cases of monkeypox increases, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed that monkeypox can spread in the air, but only through "persistent" personal contact with infected individuals. 

At a briefing on Friday, CDC chief Rochelle Walensky said monkeypox was transmitted through physical contact with symptomatic patients and by touching their clothes and bedding,  the Daily Mail reports.

However, epidemiologists have sought to determine if a face mask is needed to avoid the virus that causes the rash, explaining that the virus that causes the rash does not "stay in the air" as Covid does.

During the meeting, health officials also urged Americans with sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia to be tested for monkeypox. They warned that many patients have pain in their genitals and anus that looks like a rash or sexually transmitted disease.

Several cases of co-infection with monkeypox and sexually transmitted diseases have also been recorded. Walensky emphasized that the virus is expelled by infected people and is transmitted in the air only through large droplets that quickly fall to the ground.