Healthcare professionals treating patients with monkeypox should use appropriate N95 masks, eye protection and isolation protocols similar to those of COVID-19, officials said.
In a document on infection prevention and control published this month, Public Health Ontario says that while historically monkeypox has been limited to prolonged face-to-face or skin-to-skin contact with a lesion, “possible transmission during the prodromal period and similarities with smallpox virus, the possibility of airborne transmission is assumed. “
As such, these patients should be placed in an air-insulated room with negative pressure ventilation when treated in a health facility.
If this is not available, Ontario Public Health says the patient can be placed in a single room with the door closed.
When none of the options are available, officials say “precautions must be taken to minimize exposure to others.”
Healthcare professionals should wear a tried and tested N-95 respirator, gloves, dress and eye protection.
Ontario Public Health says these precautions must be followed until the scabs go away and new skin appears.
This is in stark contrast to the way COVID-19 was treated in early 2020, when healthcare workers were not provided with adequate PPE while dealing with serious outbreaks in both hospitals and long-term care.
In April 2020, the Ontario Nurses Association requested a court order to force some long-term care homes to provide staff with items such as N95 face respirators. At the time, the association claimed that in some cases, homes locked masks and “actively discouraged nurses from using the exact PPE they deemed necessary.”
Ontario health officials appear to be working quickly to limit the possible spread of the virus. Ontario’s chief medical officer issued an order to health care providers on Friday, asking them to report all possible or suspected cases of monkeypox to local authorities.
So far, there is only one suspected case of monkeypox in Ontario. He was identified in a Toronto man who had contact with someone who had recently traveled from Montreal.
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