BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Students are starting to head back to campus and local colleges and universities are keeping an eye on the spread of monkeypox.
"I think it's possible we see a bump in cases," says Dr. Thomas Russo, Chief of the Division of Infectious Disease at the University at Buffalo. "I think it's important to realize that the risk is low, but not zero, and it's largely dependent on your behavior and activities."
Monkeypox is primarily transmitted by intimate skin-to-skin contact and Dr. Russo says social activities at college could lead to the disease being spread. "I think we all know that college students are sexually active. Although transmission of monkeypox isn't the only means of transmission, it's really an important means of transmission," added Dr. Russo.
Dr. Russo says it's important for college students to know the symptoms of monkeypox, which include.
- Flu like symptoms
- Fever
- Headache
- Swollen glands
- Developing a rash
Educating students on how monkeypox is spread is key, says Dr. Russo. The University at Buffalo is putting together informational sheets addressing frequently asked questions that will be distributed on campus.SUNY Fredonia, which started the fall semester of classes on Monday, is also working to inform students.
"It's the first day of classes so we are just starting as far as our students go, but the campus itself has been prepared for this," says Deborah Dibble, Director of the Student Health Center at SUNY Fredonia. "Covid has actually prepared us well. We actually have an isolation dorm on campus that we utilize for COVID students, we have adapted a floor of it if we get a monkeypox case."
Dibble says there has been no cases reported in or around the SUNY Fredonia campus, and none reported in Erie County.
"It's a less severe disease than Covid, and it's much less infectious", says Dr. Russo. "None the less, we want ot get educated and make every effort to protect ourselves and others"
