Monkeypox Clinical and Policy Update
This is the second of a series of clinical and policy updates on the Monkeypox virus.
Visit the ANAC website and the CDC Monkeypox website for updated resources related to monkeypox.

Monkeypox can spread to anyone through close, personal, often skin-to-skin contact, including:
  • Direct contact with Monkeypox rash, scabs or body fluids from a person with Monkeypox
  • Touching objects, fabrics (clothing, bedding or towels) and surfaces that have been used by someone with Monkeypox
  • Contact with respiratory secretions
Monkeypox Updates

The American Nurses Association (ANA) called for a “Swift and Coordinated Response to Contain the Monkeypox Outbreak” on Aug. 5. They noted the importance of combating misinformation and stigma related to the virus. Read the full statement.

Additionally, the ANA has developed a monkeypox webpage to “inform and support nurses through this evolving public health emergency.” The webpage includes information on monkeypox transmission, signs/symptoms, testing/treatment, vaccination, infection prevention and special populations. View the website.

The CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) released two reports Aug. 5. The first was a review of the “Epidemiologic and Clinical Characteristics of Monkeypox Cases — United States, May 17–July 22, 2022." View the report.

The second CDC report provided “Interim Guidance for Prevention and Treatment of Monkeypox in Persons with HIV Infection — United States, August 2022”. It noted that people with untreated HIV may experience more severe illness from monkeypox. View the report.

The CDC’s COCA (Clinician Outreach and Communications Activities) hosted a webinar on “CDC and FDA Update: Interim Clinical Considerations for Monkeypox Vaccination" today. The presentation recording and slides will be available on the CDC COCA by 3 p.m. tomorrow. Learn more.

The New England Journal of Medicine published an article Aug. 3,“Tecovirimat and the Treatment of Monkeypox — Past, Present, and Future Considerations”. The authors discussed the importance of balancing access to potentially beneficial treatment with the need for randomized clinical trials to assess the safety and efficacy of the treatment. Read the article.
Join our Monkeypox Taskforce 

ANAC seeks to be both proactive and rapidly reactive to time-sensitive public health issues. ANAC is looking for members to participate in an ad hoc taskforce alongside ANAC board members, committee members and leadership staff, assisting in one or more possible activities as it relates to Monkeypox:
  1. Share experiences and insight
  2. Serve as an advisor to ANAC or other organizations, as needed  
  3. Participate as a speaker 
  4. Review written material or communication for clinical accuracy  

We welcome ANAC members currently active in monkeypox clinical and policy issues to consider joining the taskforce. Please reach out to Nakera at [email protected] if you are interested or have questions.
ANAC believes in leading with science and evidence. Monkeypox is not a newly discovered virus. Human monkeypox was first identified in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, monkeypox not only affects countries in Africa but is a disease of global public health concern. The first outbreak of monkeypox outside of Africa occurred in the United States in 2003 and was linked to contact with infected prairie dogs.