Monkeypox Update for Washington Dentists
On Aug. 8, the American Dental Association shared the following update regarding the 2022 US Monkeypox outbreak. Consistent with recommendations by the ADA, WSDA advises continued “use of appropriate PPE including masks and gloves, surface cleaning, and extra diligence when examining patients for symptoms and the characteristic facial rash and intraoral lesions [of Monkeypox] to identify a patient early.”
CDC Urges Health Care Providers to Be on Lookout for Monkeypox Symptoms, Including Oral Lesions
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging health care providers to be on the alert for patients with symptoms consistent with monkeypox, including oral lesions, and refer them for testing.
Monkeypox is caused by the monkeypox virus, a member of the Orthopoxvirus genus in the family Poxviridae, the same family as the virus that causes smallpox. Its symptoms are similar to smallpox symptoms but milder, and the disease is rarely fatal.
Symptoms include a rash that can appear on various parts of the body, including inside the mouth and on the face, as well as fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion and respiratory symptoms, including sore throat, nasal congestion and cough.
Monkeypox most commonly spreads through direct contact with body fluids or sores on the body of someone who has monkeypox or with materials or surfaces that have touched body fluids or sores. The disease can also spread through respiratory secretions when people have prolonged face-to-face contact, although long-range airborne transmission similar to COVID-19 has not been reported, according to the CDC.
While the CDC says prior studies of monkeypox outbreaks show transmission by respiratory secretions appears uncommon, scientists are still researching how often this occurs and when a person with monkeypox symptoms might be more likely to spread the virus through respiratory secretions.
"Dentists have provided care using standard infection control precautions for several decades now, and the enhanced protocols implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to keep our patients and staff safe during this monkeypox emergency," said Ana Karina Mascarenhas, B.D.S., Dr.P.H., chair of the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs. "Use of appropriate PPE including masks and gloves, surface cleaning, and extra diligence when examining patients for symptoms and the characteristic facial rash and intraoral lesions to identify a patient early are imperative."
Read the ADA’s full Aug. 8 Monkeypox update on ADA.org.
DOH Resources
Learn more about the Monkeypox outbreak in Washington state from the Washington State Department of Health (DOH):
In addition, people across Washington can now call 1-833-829-HELP for the latest information on Monkeypox virus (MPV). Through an ongoing partnership with Washington 211, call takers will answer questions about MPV risk factors, vaccine information, testing and treatment from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM Monday, and 6:00 AM to 6 PM Tuesday through Sunday and observed state holidays.CDC Resources
Learn more about the Monkeypox outbreak in the US from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
