BOSTON (WHDH) - A Boston Public Schools staff member has come down with a case of monkeypox, the first such case for the district.
The BPS superintendent announced the case in an email to the school community Monday morning, though the staff member’s identity was not released in order to protect their privacy. A BPS spokesperson did not say which school the staffer is affiliated with, though Boston Mayor Michelle Wu confirmed that the person is a staff member of the district.
In the letter sent to families, the district said that it and Boston Public Health Commission teamed up to notify exposed individuals. The letter specified that parents who have not received an individual call or school communication should assume their school community has not been impacted.
“In general, the risk of monkeypox transmission to the community remains very low,” the letter said.
The letter also told families that the infected person will isolate until it’s safe to be around others. BPHC will offer vaccines to those exposed to or close contacts of that person. Exposed people may continue normal life unless they have monkeypox symptoms.
“The contact tracing has been done, there’s been limited exposure and everyone who has needed to have resources and vaccinations have been contacted, and that is being made available out of an abundance of caution,” Wu said.
Infectious Disease Physician Dr. Shira Doron of Tufts Medical Center said someone would need to be within six feet of a person with monkeypox for three hours to be significantly exposed, and that the disease is not likely to spread in a school setting.
“It can be transmitted through other ways, but we do not expect it to be from a toilet seat, touching a desk, touching a chair, sharing a pencil,” Doron said.
“The health and well-being of our students and staff is our top priority,” a BPS spokesperson said in a statement. “We are following the guidance provided by local, state, and federal health officials and actively working with our partners at the Boston Public Health Commission. We remain deeply committed to transparency and are taking all necessary precautions. We encourage everyone to visit boston.gov/monkeypox to learn more about monkeypox.“
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