Within new guidance from the World Health Organisation (WHO), it states, ‘Contacts without symptoms can continue routine daily activities such as going to work and attending school (i.e., no quarantine is necessary), but should remain close to home for the duration of the period of monitoring. It may, however, be prudent to exclude pre-school children from day care, nursery or other group settings.’
It has been published as the number of Monkeypox cases across the globe continues to grow steadily with more than 200 people now infected with the virus across 21 countries. Of the total number of cases worldwide, more than 100 have been confirmed in the UK.
Specific advice from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is that any childcare settings who are identified by local health protection teams through contract tracing will be ‘provided with expert advice on any actions that are required.’
The UKHSA confirmed to Nursery World, ‘Local health protection teams are working with individuals who have been identified as a confirmed Monkeypox case to advise them on what they should, and are managing close contacts and contract tracing. The risk to the general public remains low.
‘During the contract tracing process if any settings of interest are identified, such as education or childcare settings, they will also be contacted and provided with expert advice on any actions that are required.’
According to the NHS, you can catch Monkeypox from an infected animal if bitten or if you touch its blood, body fluids, spots, blisters or scabs. You can also catch the virus from an infected person by touching their clothing, bedding or towels, coming into contact with skin blisters or scabs or if they cough or sneeze.
Symptoms, which usually clear in a few weeks, include:
- a high temperature
- headache
- muscle aches
- backache
- swollen glands
- shivering (chills)
- exhaustion
- a rash - typically appears one to five days after the first symptoms, which begins on the face before spreading to other parts of the body.