INDIANAPOLIS — "It's really contact with those vesicles, those pustules, that's where you get that exposure," said Mary Kay Foster, a nurse & special pathogens program manager at IU Health.
As monkeypox continues to spread across the country and here in the Hoosier state, Foster said Indiana is well-prepared for potential cases.
"We have very set guidelines for testing," Foster said. "In fact, we test about anybody if a physician says I think this lesion or this rash or this pox could be monkeypox, they can now go in and send them for testing and within 48-72 hours we'll have a test result."
To get monkeypox, Foster said you have to have skin-to-skin contact with the pox themselves and they're highly infectious. And usually within 2-21 days of exposure, Foster said small pustules from the monkeypox will start to develop.
Some people also experience flu-like symptoms, enlarged lymph nodes and fever.
"About the time when their fever starts to peak, that's when these pustules will start developing on their face, going down their shoulders to their trunk, could be on the palms of your hands and your feet. And they're very itchy and very painful," Foster said.
If you've been exposed, Foster said it's important to call your doctor's office first or schedule a telehealth visit with a physician to help mitigate further spread.
“Most of the time, they might send you to an emergency department, where we’re ready and able to get you tested. Again, we like to do that when we’re in the know so we greet you, bring you in, get you tested and get you right back home where you need to stay,” Foster said.
If you're positive, Foster stressed that you must quarantine until every pox or lesion is fully healed.
"It's until the scab is dry, it falls off and there's fresh new skin over the area, then it's no longer infectious," Foster said. "So you're talking 2-4 weeks, possibly longer."
As of Tuesday, the CDC reports more than 2,100 cases of monkeypox nationwide. 11 cases have been reported in Indiana, including 2 cases in Marion County.
Nationwide, a shortage of monkeypox vaccinations have made the shots hard to get in some spots where cases are much higher. Foster said Indiana has vaccine supply but stressed that only those who've been exposed really need it.
"Should the general population get vaccinated? No. Really, we just need to focus on those key individuals who have the high risk exposure," Foster said of the monkeypox vaccine.
So far, many of the positive cases in the US have been in gay men. And already, many in the LGBTQ community are facing stigma over the spread of the virus. But doctors are quick to clarify, monkeypox is something anyone can get if they come into direct contact with the pox.
"Yes, there's that concern and that's why we've put out very strongly that this is not a disease within that population, anybody can get it. It's that up close personal contact where there's that spread," Foster said.
In Indianapolis, The Damien Center, works to enhance the lives of Hoosiers living with AIDS or HIV. They began working with the state immediately after initial reports came out of the virus' impact on the LGBTQ+ community, and said state health leaders reached out to them early on.
“If you think about it, we're now in three epidemics. Because we have HIV, we have COVID. And now we have monkeypox,” said Alan Witchey, president and CEO of The Damien Center. “I wouldn't say it's nice, but the benefit of this experience, coming on the heels of COVID is that we have a high level of preparedness and awareness."
While cases are continuing to climb nationally, Foster said for people in central Indiana, the risk of getting monkeypox remains low.
"The chances of you and I developing monkeypox is incredibly rare. You're more likely to get infected with the COVID BA 5.5 than we are with monkeypox," Foster said.
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