It front like the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) ca n’t make up their mind on masks for monkeypox .

In a muddled uracil - turn , the CDC briefly advised travelers to fall apart masks to reduce the risk of catching monkeypox before deleting the testimonial to avoid " confusion " .

Last week , the CDCupdatedits monkeypox traveling advice to say : “ Wear a mask . Wearing a mask can help protect you from many diseases , including monkeypox . ”

Now , amidcriticismon social media , that recommendationis gone . harmonise toReuters , a CDC spokesperson said they “ removed the mask recommendation from the monkeypox Travel Health Notice because it caused confusion . ”

This modification in advice appear to contemplate the position that monkeypox is primarily spread by up - confining and direct contact . However , there issome evidencethat the virus can be spread through aerosolize airborne transmittance , at least over a short distance .

Monkeypox is endemic in part of central and westerly Africa , but an ongoing and unusual outbreak has seen over 1,000 confirmed and suspected cases report in 29 countries .

The computer virus that causesmonkeypoxis part of the same folk as variola . symptom of monkeypox are also standardised to smallpox – albeit milder – with patient experiencing fever , achy muscle , egotistic lymph nodes , enfeeblement , and a roseola . More visible symptoms like unusual rashes , lesion , and scabs on the skin appear later .

Meanwhile , another street corner of the CDC websitestill advisespeople with monkeypox to have on a surgical mask , particularly if they are experiencing respiratory symptoms such as a cough or sore throat . It also says people living in the same household as an infected person should regard don a mask to protect themselves .

Some have point out that this flip - flopping is redolent of the former mix-up over whether SARS - CoV-2 , the computer virus that causes COVID-19,should be considered airborne . In the possibility level of the pandemic , the World Health Organization ( WHO ) repeatedly stressed that COVID-19 was not airborne or spread out by aerosol transmittance . It transpired they were gravely wrong – it ’s now well - established that airborne transmission is one of the most of import ways that COVID-19 spread to individual - to - person .

Monkeypox is a very different disease from COVID-19 . While there is evidence of some airborne transmitting , it currently appears that the virus is primarily diffuse through direct striking with infective sores , scab , or physical structure fluid . This let in tongue and sneezes , plus the intake of aerosolized viruses , but lingering airborne particles are not considered to be the most substantial road of transmission .

As per the CDC ’s latest advice , avoiding direct and up - close contact with an infected person is still the most important way to prevent the spread of monkeypox .

The query of how masquerade and airborne transmission broker into this is potential to be a subject of continued debate .