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About IDPH

Prevention Steps from Animals with Mpox

There are a number of measures that can be taken to prevent infection with mpox virus from animals:

  • Avoid contact with animals that could harbor the virus in countries with mpox, such as central and west Africa (including rodents, marsupials and non-human primates and animals that are sick or that have been found dead in areas where mpox occurs).
  • Avoid eating wild game meat (bush meat) from countries where mpox is present in animals.
  • Avoid contact with any materials, such as bedding, that has been in contact with a sick animal.
  • Isolate infected patients from others who could be at risk for infection.
  • Practice good hand hygiene after contact with infected animals or humans. For example, washing your hands with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
  • Use standard, contact and droplet infection control precautions in the health care setting when caring for patients.
  • Contact tracing is needed with each case of mpox to identify others who may become infected.
  • Persons who have had contact with a suspect or confirmed animal or human case should be quarantined and followed up for 21 days after their last exposure.
  • Historically, smallpox vaccine can provide protections against mpox. These vaccines are not widely available. A smallpox vaccine can be used in persons who have had contact with an infected mpox case but approval for the vaccination must be obtained from public health authorities.