Local colleges prepping for school year with monkeypox on the rise

PITTSBURGH — Monkeypox is on the mind of some college students.

“I mean it’s rough. We’re not even out of COVID and now we’re getting hit with another thing. I think people need to take this seriously and nip it in the bud,” said University of Pittsburgh graduate student Josh Campbell.

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There are 161 cases of monkeypox in Pennsylvania according to the CDC and 29 of those are in Allegheny County.

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Health experts say those numbers could get higher when college students start school this fall.

“It’s likely to see cases going up in the United States for some time, and that’s really going to depend on the availability of vaccines,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja.

Dr. Adalja is an infectious disease doctor. He says monkeypox is spread when a person comes into close contact with sores, scabs, or bodily fluids of an infected person.

This includes things like kissing, cuddling, and sexual contact.

“What will drive transmission is close contact between individuals,” he said.

Dr. Adalja tells Channel 11 that local universities need to have a proactive approach to stop the outbreak, with testing and vaccines.

Students we talked to agreed.

“I’m just going to listen to doctors and do what the medical professionals tell me to do. They’re smarter and they know what they’re talking about,” said Josh Campbell.

We emailed several universities to ask how they’re preparing to keep students safe this fall from monkeypox.

The University of Pittsburgh responded in part by stating:

“As community members return to campus in preparation for the start of the academic year, the university will continue to provide information and resources to keep the community informed about risks and resources to mitigate monkeypox transmission.”

The Allegheny County Health Department is making the monkeypox vaccine available to more people.

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