The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday scrubbed a recommendation from its website for travelers to wear face masks due to the threat of Monkeypox, a rare disease that had been transmitted mostly through sexual contact.
A spokesperson for the CDC did not immediately respond to a request for clarification about the agency’s position on face mask-wearing to prevent the disease.
The CDC added the mask recommendation last week under its “Traveler’s Health” section, warning cases of monkeypox have been reported in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
“Some cases were reported among men who have sex with men,” the CDC website states. “Some cases were also reported in people who live in the same household as an infected person.”
The CDC advised as late as Monday: “Wear a mask. Wearing a mask can help protect you from many diseases, including monkeypox.”
The mask advisory was removed from the page as of Tuesday.
The CDC described monkeypox risk to the general public as “low,” but the agency has elevated the threat from the virus to “Alert – Level 2 – Practice Enhanced Precautions.”
The level 2 alert is one step away from a CDC advisory to avoid non-essential travel.
According to the CDC, the monkeypox virus is spread through contact with, “the skin lesions or bodily fluids of infected animals or humans (alive or dead), including respiratory droplets, or through contact with materials contaminated with the virus.”
The CDC reported 31 cases of monkeypox in the United States as of June 6.
The CDC continues to recommend anyone aged 2 and older wear a mask, “in indoor areas of public transportation,” including airplanes and airports. The Justice Department, acting on a CDC recommendation, is fighting to overturn a federal judge’s ruling that threw out the federal mask mandate on public transportation that had been in place since President Biden took office.
