BOSTON — Officials announced that an adult who works for Boston Public Schools has been diagnosed with monkeypox, marking the district’s first known case.
In a letter to the Boston Public Schools community, the Acting Superintendent, Drew Echelson, and incoming Superintendent Mary Skipper announced that an adult in the district was diagnosed, WFXT reported. The staff member was not diagnosed because of privacy concerns.
“While this may be difficult to process, especially after the last several school years, we want you to know that we are here for you. We assure you that we are doing everything to ensure the health and safety of all of our schools,” officials said in the letter, obtained by WFXT.
Monkeypox is a rare disease that comes from the same family of diseases that causes smallpox, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1977, and prior to 2022, had only been reported in central and west African countries.
To date, 23,499 cases have been confirmed in the U.S. by the CDC, with 364 of those in Massachusetts.
Monkeypox is spread from person to person through direct contact with the rash or bodily fluids, and can be spread from the time symptoms start until the rash has fully healed, according to the CDC.
The building where the infected person worked in Boston was disinfected over the weekend, WFXT reported. The patient will isolate at home until it is safe to be around others.
The Boston Public Health Commission told WFXT that it will offer monkeypox vaccines to anyone who was exposed to the virus.
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