What Cleaners Need to Know About the Spread of Monkeypox

As the CDC relaxes COVID-19 guidelines, a new virus has come to the forefront. Monkeypox cases have reached 40,000 globally, leaving cleaners to wonder how they can best prevent further spread and infection.

Peter Teska, Global Infection Prevention Expert with Diversey, provides key insights regarding the Monkeypox virus, including the implications for approaches to cleaning and disinfecting.

“COVID-19 and Monkeypox are dramatically different in terms of how they are spread. SARS-CoV-2 virus is the virus that causes COVID-19 and is found primarily in respiratory droplets. Common ways for it to spread include talking, coughing, and sneezing,” says Teska. “Monkeypox is primarily spread via the fluid that exists within pustules that form on the hands, torso, and face. A person becomes exposed to the virus by coming into contact with the pustule fluid.”

According to Teska, 97% of the time Monkeypox is spread through intimate contact or being physically close to an infected individual for an extended period of time. Additionally, the virus can be spread via shared towels and clothing that contain small droplets of pustule fluid.

Unlike like the spread of COVID-19, Monkeypox has been found to spread in more specific locations, most commonly at events where intimate contact is occurring.

“With Monkeypox, you're not seeing people going through an airport or riding public transportation and getting infected. The spread is almost exclusively associated with these intimate events, where people are having the potential to get the virus on their mucous membranes,” says Teska. “Typically, people are not contagious until the pustules are visible on their skin. It'll take several days for [the pustules] to develop. There's a fairly well defined start and end to when a person is likely contagious.”

Teska asserts that the distinction between disinfecting against COVID-19 and Monkeypox is relatively minor, with many registered disinfectants being capable of inactivating both viruses.

“Whether it's SARS-CoV-2 or Monkeypox, if a disinfectant can get to the viral droplets, it won’t have trouble inactivating it,” says Teska. “We’ve found that most of our standard disinfectants will work on Monkeypox. The major difference with Monkeypox is the risk of environmental transmission—that is, pustule fluid landing on surfaces.”

When combatting Monkeypox, cleaners can follow general best practices for disinfecting to prevent viral spread.

“It’s important to keep cleaning and disinfecting commonly touched surfaces, especially those that are frequently touched. For people that are doing cleaning, using practices that don't result in splashing or spraying is also crucial,” says Teska. “Additionally, wearing gloves and aprons to protect the body when you're doing cleaning and disinfection is important. In general, we're not as concerned about workers who are doing cleaning being exposed to the virus, simply because a standard set of gloves and a gown when doing cleaning is likely to be enough to have a barrier to prevent it, unless you're doing activities that cause splashing.”

As the WHO and CDC continue to monitor the Monkeypox outbreak, cleaners can adhere to general best practices as these organizations release more information.

“If the WHO and CDC start to add additional precautions for the public, they'd be things cleaners would want to be aware of,” says Teska. “The CDC just recently added masking guidance for those cleaning in an area where there was a person with a known positive case of Monkeypox. We should be prepared to adjust as more information becomes available.”