Monkeypox has emerged as an alleged ‘recent’ concern, similar to a “new COVID-19” outbreak reported in late March 2020. Social media has amplified this fear, though the true impact of the disease remains uncertain.
According to the World Health Organization, monkeypox is “a disease with symptoms similar to smallpox, although less severe. While smallpox was eradicated in 1980, Mpoxcontinues to occur in countries of Central and West Africa.” Like COVID-19, monkeypox spreads from human to human, and both diseases originated from animals.
Westerville North High School, according to the district and school nurse Katy Hartnell, has had no reported cases of monkeypox. Hartnell noted that the situation with monkeypox is similar to the early panic surrounding COVID-19, describing, “The thing with COVID-19. We didn’t necessarily have what we thought was a vaccination in regard to COVID. So that made people panic because we couldn’t contain it. And that part was scary. I think that would be similar in regard to monkeypox.”
In Franklin County, Ohio, there have been 103 recorded diagnoses of monkeypox, according to the Ohio Department of Health. The department has not specified which cities have been most affected, but the majority of these cases were reported in 2022. At that time, monkeypox did not garner significant global alarm.
Following the global impact of COVID-19, there has been increased attention to diseases worldwide, particularly those affecting regions farther east.
Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram have contributed to spreading misinformation about monkeypox, overstating its implications on a statewide level. Despite reports of cases around the world, there has not been a situation similar to the COVID-19 emergency declaration.
Overall, the cases of monkeypox remain relatively few and scattered. Despite some exaggerated media coverage, there is little local concern at present. The situation is comparable to other outbreaks, such as measles, where case spikes can occur but do not necessarily warrant a state of emergency.
