Washington student suspected of having monkeypox
A student at Washington Park Elementary School has undergone testing for a possible case of monkeypox.
In a letter sent to parents on Monday, Washington School District Superintendent George Lammay said that a student with a suspected case of monkeypox “or another disease with a similar presentation” attended class at the elementary school.
The child was pulled from class and the school was immediately sanitized, Lammay said.
The district is awaiting test results, which Lammay says could take up to 14 days.
Parents of students who have been identified as being in close contact with the student – either in the classroom or on the school bus – received additional communication from the school advising them of next steps.
The Centers for Disease Control reports that, as of Monday, there have been 23,499 total confirmed monkeypox cases across the United States. In the U.S., 27 children ages 15 and under have been diagnosed with monkeypox.
Monkeypox is primarily spread through close, personal, or intimate contact with a person infected with the monkeypox virus. That includes direct skin-to-skin contact with monkeypox rash or bodily fluids from an infected person. Transmission is possible from the onset of of symptoms until the scabs have separated and the skin has fully healed.