Health Care Personnel Exposure Risk Assessment and Management During a Mpox Outbreak in Chicago, Illinois, 17 May to 8 July 2022

J Infect Dis. 2024 Mar 26;229(Supplement_2):S207-S212. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiad531.

Abstract

This report summarizes risk assessment interviews and follow-up with health care personnel (HCP) after exposure to patients with mpox disease during 17 May to 8 July 2022. HCP-case interactions were assessed using a standard questionnaire to categorize the risk associated with patient encounters. We assessed 150 interactions among 142 HCP and 30 cases. Four (2.7%) interactions were defined as high risk, 5 (3.3%) intermediate, 107 (71.3%) low, and 31 (20.7%) no risk. High and intermediate exposures were offered postexposure prophylaxis; 4 accepted. No documented mpox transmission after exposure was identified. These findings suggest transmission risk in health care settings during routine patient care is low.

Keywords: health care exposure; health care personnel; mpox; mpox virus; occupational transmission; risk assessment.

MeSH terms

  • Chicago
  • Delivery of Health Care
  • Disease Outbreaks
  • Health Personnel
  • Humans
  • Illinois
  • Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional* / prevention & control
  • Mpox (monkeypox)*
  • Risk Assessment