Md. campus officials prepare for Monkeypox prevention as fall semester approaches
BALTIMORE -- University officials across Maryland are preparing for both the return of students in the coming weeks and the Monkeypox public health emergency.
"The main thing is educating the student body about what they can do to prevent the disease and also recognize it early," said University of Maryland, Baltimore Public Heath Officer Dr. Marianne Cloeren.
Dr. Cloeren said contact tracing and vaccination efforts, once supply ramps up, will be critical in the response to Monkeypox.
The University of Maryland, College Park sent a letter to its campus community Tuesday laying out prevention, symptoms, and information about the virus. So far, there have not been any cases within its community, the letter said.
A Johns Hopkins University spokesperson said the school has "assembled a group of public health and medical professionals" to guide its response.
Morgan State University officials said the school is finalizing details with its Monkeypox preparedness plan, but the university will align with CDC guidelines.
Towson University added Monkeypox to its Sexual Health web page.
Doctors say Monkeypox is not a sexually-transmitted disease in the classic sense, as it can also spread through close, non-sexual contact.
"It can be transmitted other ways as well. But, that's the highest risk, is through sexual activities. So, I would not expect all of a sudden to have an explosion of it, but we do expect there will be some cases," Dr. Cloeren said.
Cases have been confirmed at other college campuses across the country, including Georgetown University and University of Texas at Austin.
There are 219 cases in Maryland, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A total of 9,493 cases have been confirmed across the country.