CDC: No Evidence Monkeypox Is Airborne

There is currently no evidence that monkeypox is airborne, CDC officials said on Friday.

To date, 45 cases across 15 states and Washington, D.C. have been reported — and not all are linked to international travel — but no deaths have been associated with the outbreak, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, said on a conference call with reporters.

She reiterated that the virus transmits either through “direct contact” with an infected person via sores on the body, contact with materials that have touched those sores, or “respiratory secretions” during close face-to-face contact. It is unclear whether it spreads through semen or vaginal fluids, or whether asymptomatic people can spread the virus, she added.

However, Walensky noted that monkeypox is not thought to “linger in the air” or spread via “casual conversation” or quick encounters, such as passing someone at the grocery store.

Reporters were quick to point out that this is what CDC said about COVID early in the pandemic.

“All of the cases we’ve seen to date in this outbreak are related to direct contact, either through skin-to-skin contact or through bed sheets,” Walensky said, with the caveat that it is “nearly impossible” to separate skin-to-skin contact via sexual contact from face-to-face contact.