The World Health Organization (WHO) director general declared the current outbreak of monkeypox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Similarly, San Francisco declared a public health emergency due to the increase in monkeypox cases and the state of New York declared the spread of the virus an “imminent threat to public health.”
Monkeypox, formerly largely relegated to western and central Africa, has now infected approximately 16,000 people in seventy-five countries, according to the WHO. The origin of the current spread appears to be from those who have traveled to Europe and North America rather than Africa. This is coming at a time when many U.S. residents are traveling to Europe since travel restrictions from COVID-19 have largely been dropped and business travel has resumed for many. Employers may want to consider the necessity of business travel and how they will respond if an employee voices concern. Additionally, employers may wish to educate employees who are traveling rather than restricting personal travel.
The WHO takes the position that public health agencies should raise awareness and take the virus seriously but not be alarmed. If employers learned anything during COVID-19, it is that the first steps is likely to be understanding the problem and preparing for it as best they can. Because of the way the virus is spread, those with the greatest amount of risk in their workplaces are likely laboratory personnel (who might come into contact with...
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