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Mpox

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What To Do If You Are Sick

If you have any symptoms of mpox, please call 904-620-2900 to schedule an appointment at SHS for evaluation and guidance.

Make a Plan Ahead of Time

Students who are diagnosed with mpox must isolate until the rash is fully healed over. This can be up to 4 weeks. The illness typically lasts 2-4 weeks. On-campus residents suspected of mpox will be required to isolate off-campus until either cleared with a negative lab result by the Florida Department of Health-Duval or once the rash is completely healed over and new skin has developed (2-4 weeks). Mpox can spread from the time symptoms start until the rash has fully healed and a fresh layer of skin has formed. 

Students with contact to people confirmed to have mpox should be monitored for symptoms for 21 days after their last exposure. Contacts will be instructed to monitor their temperature twice daily. If symptoms develop, contacts should immediately self-isolate and contact SHS for further guidance. Contacts who remain asymptomatic can be permitted to continue routine daily activities (e.g., go to work, school).  Contacts should not donate blood, cells, tissue, breast milk, semen, or organs while they are under symptom surveillance.

Recommended Planning Steps:

  1. Compile the names and contact information of your healthcare providers. Add Student Heath Services as a contact on your phone, (904) 620-2900.
  2. Please be prepared to make off-campus living arrangements for 2-4 weeks in case of a mpox infection.
  3. Create a list of people to call if you need help with food, medicine, and other supplies during isolation.    

What You Need to Know

  • Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is tracking an outbreak of monkeypox that has spread across several countries that don’t normally report mpox, including the United States.
  • The mpox virus is spreading mostly through close, intimate contact with someone who has mpox.
  • You can take steps to prevent getting mpox and lower your risk during sex.
  • CDC recommends vaccination for people who have been exposed to mpox and people who are at higher risk of being exposed to mpox.
  • If you have any symptoms of mpox, talk to your healthcare provider, even if you don’t think you had contact with someone who has mpox.
  • CDC is urging healthcare providers in the United States to be alert for patients who have rash illnesses consistent with mpox

Duval County is now in Phase 3 of vaccine distribution. 

Phase 3

Phase 3 will occur when mpox vaccine is distributed through normal vaccine distribution channels. During Phase 3, all Phase 2 groups will be prioritized in addition to the groups in bold:

  • Laboratory personnel and select health care personnel at high risk for mpox
  • Close contacts of mpox cases
  • Immunocompromised MSM with HIV (< 200 CD4 white blood cells per ml3) with potential exposure
  • Other MSM with a recent history of a sexually transmissible disease
  • All other MSM with HIV who had potential exposure
  • All MSM
  • Other high-risk groups

Phase 3 will have the same vaccination partners as Phase 2 in addition to those in bold:

  • Florida CHDs
  • RW clinics
  • STD clinics
  • Other community providers who serve MSM with HIV
  • Community providers who serve MSM and other high-risk groups 

Student Health Services does not carry the mpox vaccine.  However, students, faculty, and staff interested in vaccination can obtain the vaccine through the following resources:

Any Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) or DOH-Duval:

  • Agape
    • 120 King Street
    • Jacksonville, Florida 32204
    • (904) 760-4904
     
  • Sulzbacher
    • 611 East Adams Street
    • Jacksonville, Florida 32202
    • (904) 394-8069
     
  • DOH-Duval: To schedule an appointment for the mpox vaccine, call 904.253.1130

Cleaning and Disinfection 

During isolation at home, people with mpox should clean and disinfect the spaces they occupy regularly to limit household contamination.

  • ISOLATING ALONE IN HOME: People with mpox who are isolating alone at home should regularly clean and disinfect the spaces they occupy, including commonly touched surfaces and items, to limit household contamination. Perform hand hygiene afterwards using an alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) that contains at least 60% alcohol, or soap and water if ABHR is unavailable.
  • ISOLATING WITH OTHERS IN HOME: People with mpox who are isolating in a home with others who don’t have mpox should follow the isolation and infection control guidance, and any shared spaces, appliances, or items should be disinfected immediately following use.

People who have recovered from mpox and whose isolation period has ended should conduct a thorough disinfection of all the spaces within the home that they had been in contact with. Please see the CDC page, Disinfecting Home and Other Non-Healthcare Settings, for the steps to follow to minimize risk of infection to others in your home after recovery.

Mpox Resources 

Please click the link for CDC guidance on Preventing Mpox Spread in Congregate Settings. Here is the link for the CDC pdf on Mpox and Safer Sex.  Here is the link to information on the CDC's Mpox Vaccine Equity Pilot Program. Here is the link to find out how Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is approaching mpox.  Here is the link for information on the U.S. government's mpox research.