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Monkeypox on campus not big concern yet By Kevin Opsahl Aug 22, 2022 12:15 AM A A SOU has ‘no specific policies’ in place for a monkeypox outbreak A pharmacist monkeypox vaccine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital in San Francisco. [Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle via AP] Unlike with COVID-19, Southern Oregon University officials do not currently feel the need to enforce stringent preventative measures to protect students against monkeypox, even as health officials nationwide believe colleges and universities could become “hot spots” for the disease in the fall. “There are no specific policies that have been made regarding monkeypox,” said Joe Mosley, director of community and media relations for the Ashland institution. “But certainly we would want anybody who suspected that they might be afflicted to check in with health and wellness,” said Mosley, referring to the campus Student Health and Wellness Center building, at 560 Indiana St., Ashland. Monkeypox’s hallmark symptoms are a rash or sores that can be itchy or painful. Sometimes people can have flu-like symptoms before the rash occurs. Or the rash can occur first before other symptoms, such as chills or swollen lymph nodes. Leona O’Keefe, medical director for Jackson County Public Health, wrote in an email Friday that any prolonged skin-to-skin contact can increase the risk of spreading monkeypox. Many public health officials are working on a campaign to de-stigmatize the disease, because so far most cases have been reported in men who have sex with other men. Beyond intercourse, other activities such as hugging or kissing can lead to monkeypox if one of the people is infected. O’Keefe added that other less common ways monkeypox can spread is through shared linens and respiratory droplets. “While we want everyone to be educated on the most common mechanisms of spread of the monkeypox virus, it is also important to recognize that the virus does not spread easily,” she said. Though not a new disease, monkeypox was confirmed as an outbreak in May, with cases originating in the United Kingdom. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as of Friday listed over 14,000 confirmed monkeypox cases in the U.S., with 116 in Oregon. Students living together in dorms give public health officials cause for concern that monkeypox could spread at colleges and universities nationwide. “I'm sure that’s probably the case with any emerging virus, that a place where people pretty much live on top of each other would be a hot spot,” Mosley added. O’Keefe wrote that Jackson County Public Health is “working on reaching out to SOU, RCC and other community partners.” Sean Taggart, director of risk management for Rogue Community College, said the college is monitoring the monkeypox outbreak across the country and “will continue to communicate with local public health departments in both Josephine and Jackson counties as the situation evolves.” “Additional information, including prevention education, public health requirements and other resources will be shared with the college community,” Taggart said in a prepared statement. Some institutions, including University of Maryland and Pennsylvania State University, have reported either presumptive or confirmed cases already, and not just among the student body, but faculty, too. These institutions and others in the higher education realm have released prevention plans for monkeypox, while other schools have yet to respond. On the SOU front, Mosley noted he is part of the university’s incident management team, which includes Anna D'Amato, executive director of SOU Health and Wellness. “We meet, usually, every week,” Mosley said. “She has mentioned she’s keeping very close tabs on monkeypox, but there’s no reason for alarm at SOU, at this point.” But, Mosley added, if school and health officials believe SOU is becoming a “hot spot” for monkeypox, the Ashland institution might develop more explicit and public communications on the disease. Reach reporter Kevin Opsahl at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @KevJourno.