By Clara Snyder | Staff Writer
As Monkeypox case counts continue to rise, Dr. Matt Muramoto, Baylor Health Services staff physician, said the university’s policies for monkeypox are under review and will likely be in place by the beginning of the semester.
The monkeypox outbreak was declared a national public health emergency by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Aug. 4. The national case count was 6,616 on the day this declaration was issued, and as of Aug. 16, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 12,689 confirmed cases.
Texas has the fourth highest statewide case count in the U.S. with 1,048 reported cases as of Aug. 16. The outbreak reportedly reached McLennan County on July 20 and there are currently seven confirmed positive cases.
According to Baylor’s Spokesperson Lori Fogleman, there are currently no reported positive cases on campus.
“The Waco-McLennan County Public Health District has confirmed the first case of monkeypox in McLennan County,” Clare Paul, senior public information & communications specialist, said. “The person is an adult female McLennan County resident with no known travel or exposure to other cases.”
According to Inside Higher Education, the University of Texas at Austin and four other universities across the U.S. have confirmed monkeypox cases on their campuses. In light of this, many universities have begun planning approaches to prevent further outbreaks.
Muramoto said via email that containment and care policies are currently under review in case the monkeypox virus spreads to Baylor’s campus.
“We will be coordinating preventative education and making information accessible for students,” Muramoto said. “Confirmed cases will be managed in accordance with the Department of Public Health/CDC guidelines and recommendations for isolation and treatment.”
Dr. Jonathan Lawson, biology lecturer, said encouraging education on signs and symptoms is important early on in this outbreak. Lawson said we learned the importance of being open to new data with COVID-19, and we must respond responsibly to that data as well.
“The most appropriate response would be to encourage students, faculty and staff to consult with their personal physicians and, additionally, to make resources available if students don’t have access to health care here in the Waco area,” Lawson said.
Muramoto said all students can access health care at the university health clinic, and there are finance options for students without health insurance. Additionally, the health clinic can assist in coordinating future specialty care if needed.
The CDC confirmed the outbreak has reached 93 locations globally as of Aug. 16, and 86 of these locations have not reported monkeypox historically. Muramoto said the outbreak is not currently expected to impact study abroad programs for students this fall, but this will be subject to change if positive cases increase.
“For our students studying abroad, health care arrangements are required,” Muramoto said. “They would have care available with the local resources, depending on their assigned location.”
Since the start of the outbreak, comparisons have been drawn between the COVID-19 pandemic and the monkeypox outbreak. Lawson said although there is a similarity in the general susceptibility of the population to this disease, it is not nearly as likely that the outbreak will become as big of a global threat as COVID-19 was.
“One tool we have with monkeypox that we didn’t have initially with COVID-19 is a robust and very specific test for this disease,” Lawson said. “With monkeypox, we already have two vaccines in hand. We have a therapeutic that can be used to treat people that are infected, and we have some advantage in that generally we don’t see asymptomatic cases.”
According to Muramoto, further advantages unique to this outbreak include the luxury of historically monitoring this virus internationally and having stronger information on hand initially.
“I think the experience with COVID helped to prepare everyone in dealing with new public health concerns that arise,” Muramoto said. “COVID demonstrated the importance of appropriate precautions to minimize personal risk as well as risk to others, and that responsibility of individuals will apply in the scenario of monkeypox.”
In the past two decades, the U.S. had two monkeypox cases in 2021, as well as an outbreak from imported mammals in 2003. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the declaration of the current outbreak as a public health emergency aims to signify urgency and accelerate the Biden-Harris administration’s response.
“We’ve had outbreaks long before, and we will continue to have outbreaks and diseases,” Lawson said. “I think the only thing that has changed is the public awareness and how information is now communicated.”
The CDC recommends vaccination for people who have been exposed or are at higher risk of being exposed to monkeypox. Individuals showing symptoms are encouraged to consult a health care provider regardless of known contact with someone who has monkeypox.
