Lately, a virus has been sweeping the nation: Monkeypox. Although Mpox was originally discovered in 1958, it is now considered a global emergency, as confirmed by the World Health Organization’s website. An upsurge in a new Mpox variation has made it an issue of concern for many people. This new strain of Mpox is known as Clade ll. Clade ll is the variation of Mpox that has reached the United States. The other original strain of Mpox, Clade l, still mainly remains in central Africa, which is where Mpox originates from.
According to the World Health Organization, Mpox was declared as a multi-country outbreak. This was announced in July 2022, and continues to be in effect as of 2024. Furthermore, no major precautions have been taken against Mpox in Illinois. This is likely because there aren’t very many reported cases of Mpox in Illinois.
Since Mpox is a virus, it infects people through close contact, such as directly contacting an infected individual’s bodily fluids, open wounds, and close contact with respiratory droplets from an infected individual. Mpox’s death rates aren’t as devastating as Covid-19, which put the world in a global lockdown. According to the World Health Organization, Covid has an estimated death toll of over 3.4 million; however Mpox has a lower estimated death toll of 220 deaths. Mpox is still spreading and likely can form new variants as well.
People who get infected by Mpox often recover, despite that contracting Mpox isn’t like catching a common cold. Those who get infected experience a variety of unpleasant side effects, which is one of the reasons why Mpox is feared. Mpox symptoms include fever, headaches, swollen lymph nodes, exhaustion, muscle aches and chills. After a span of one to three days, infected individuals develop rashes and sores. Once this happens, individuals are infectious. Despite this, contracting Mpox isn’t common.
Mpox has been reported in Chicago and Cook County as of March 2023. In July 2023, there were around 1,493 reported cases of Mpox in Illinois, as stated by the Illinois Department of Public Health. This number isn’t very large compared to the amount of reported cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The World Health Organization’s official website mentions that in January of 2023, there were more than 22,000 suspected cases of Mpox in the DRC.
After the bitter aftertaste of the Covid Pandemic, society has grown wary of viruses such as Mpox. A new fear has been brewed. One positive gained from this is that people are quick to spread information about this new virus, and are more likely to take precautions to avoid getting infected. Despite the alarm caused by Mpox, no schools have been shut down due to it, including LHS. Although schools may not focus on taking precautions, individuals certainly can. By practicing sanitation and distancing individuals can do their best to avoid contracting Mpox and other illnesses that emerge during this time of year.
School nurse, Ms. Wood, believes that students shouldn’t worry about Mpox, and that other sicknesses pose more of a concern.
“I have not even seen anybody [with Mpox] in the community.” Ms Green said. “Right now, school can continue as normal, and we’ll be just fine.”
So although Mpox is a rising issue globally, it isn’t a large issue of concern for Libertyville High School. Instead, other more common seasonal illnesses such as the whooping cough, flu and colds, along with the relatively recent long Covid are more of a concern. All of the listed sicknesses – unlike Mpox –have been reported at Libertyville High School. Regardless, at the end of the day, like we learned with the Covid-19 pandemic, illnesses and viruses will spread regardless of how many measures people take, so it’s best to stay prepared and well-informed.
