Monkeypox Information

Monkeypox can spread to anyone through:

Direct contact with monkeypox rash or scabs on a person’s skin or the body fluids of an infected person.

Contact with objects, fabrics (clothing, bedding, or towels), and surfaces that have been used by someone with monkeypox.

Contact with respiratory secretions during prolonged, face-to-face contact.

Monkeypox can be spread during intimate contact, including:

Oral, anal, and vaginal sex, or touching the genitals or anus of a person with monkeypox.

Hugging, massage, kissing, or talking closely.

Touching fabrics, shared surfaces, and objects that were used by a person with monkeypox, such as bedding, towels, fetish gear and sex toys.

The close contact does not have to be exclusively intimate or sexual. Any close, sustained skin-to-skin contact with someone who has monkeypox can spread the virus.

Learn more about how monkeypox can spread. Visit the CDC’s “How it Spreads” page.

Early flu-like symptoms of monkeypox can include:

Fever
Headache
Muscle aches and backache
Swollen lymph nodes
Chills
Exhaustion

The rash sometimes is located on or near the genitals or anus, but may be in other areas like the hands, feet, chest, neck or face.

At first, the sores can look like pimples or blisters and may be painful or itchy.

The sores typically go through several stages, including the firm or rubbery, sometimes umbilicated sores (looks like a dot on top of the lesion), then forming scabs, before healing.

Sores may be inside the body, including the mouth, throat, vagina, or anus.

The illness may last for up to 2–4 weeks and usually resolves without specific treatment.

Visit CDC’s monkeypox “Signs and Symptoms” page for more information.

Avoid close contact with people with symptoms consistent with monkeypox infection and items (such as clothing, towels or bedding/linens) with which they have been in contact.

Avoid contact with animals that could harbor the virus, including animals that are sick or that have been found dead in areas where monkeypox occurs.

Avoid contact with any materials, such as bedding, that has been in contact with an animal that has been infected with monkeypox.

Wash your hands with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer after contact with animals or people known or suspected to have monkeypox infection or items they handled or used while ill.

We don’t know whether condoms prevent the transmission of monkeypox. If rashes are confined to the genitals or anus, condoms may help. However, since infectious respiratory secretions may be present, condoms alone are probably not enough to prevent monkeypox.

Condoms are effective at preventing the transmission of some infections, such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, and HIV.

Hartwick Students – Your Primary Care Provider or The Perrella Health Center*

Hartwick Employees – Your Primary Care Provider

After Hours and Weekends – Students should go to Urgent Care

Students can go to either WellNow Urgent Care or Bassett Convenient Care.

Contact information can be found on the Health Center webpage.

*Specimens collected at the Perrella Health Center will be sent to the local hospital lab for processing. The cost of the testing will be billed by the hospital lab to the student’s health insurance and the student will be responsible for any deductibles or copayments.

How to manage monkeypox symptoms if diagnosed:

Utilize over the counter Tylenol or Ibuprofen as needed for pain, fevers and aches.

Keep rash areas clean and dry to protect against secondary infections.

Be conscious of sun exposure to avoid discoloring exposed lesions.

Talk to a health care provider about over-the-counter medications, which might be helpful, such as oral antihistamines and topical agents such as calamine lotion, hydrocortisone, petroleum jelly, and lidocaine cream or gels.

If there is constipation, over-the-counter stool softeners (docusate sodium) or laxatives (e.g., MiraLAX) might be helpful to reduce peri-anal discomfort.

Anyone experiencing a painful rash or skin lesion should contact a health care provider about medication to help with pain management.

Prescription medicated mouthwashes and topical gels can provide pain relief and keep rashes and lesions clean and are widely available.

The Monkeypox Vaccine is now available  locally through the Gender Wellness Center at Fox Care.

Please call the Gender Wellness Center vaccination screening number 607-547-6800.

Your demographic data will be obtained and you will be screened for eligibility. If eligible, the Gender Wellness Center will reach out to the individual to set up a vaccination appointment.

To find out other locations where you can get the vaccine please use the following links:

NYC Health

NYS Department of Health