A member of the Boston Public Schools community has tested positive for monkeypox, school officials said Monday.
In an email to families, incoming Superintendent Mary Skipper and acting superintendent Drew Echelson said “the health and well-being of our students and staff is a top priority.”
“With that in mind, we wanted to share an important update with you that the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) informed us that an adult member of our BPS community has been diagnosed with monkeypox,” they wrote.
Officials would not say whether the person works for the school system or is a member of the school community in some other capacity.
At an unrelated news conference Monday, Mayor Michelle Wu told reporters that the health commission informed her over the weekend that a monkeypox case “had been identified in an adult at one of our schools.”
Wu said school officials are monitoring the situation closely and that she’s “very grateful for the incredible public health infrastructure that we have in the city to be able to identify things so quickly and then spring into action with resources.”
Officials said they have worked with the Boston Public Health Commission and the affected person to identify and notify anyone who may have been exposed. Officials also alerted the school the person is affiliated with.
“If you did not receive an individual call or a specific school communication, your school community is not impacted,” officials wrote. “We are sharing this information in accordance with our commitment to transparency and educational awareness. In general, the risk of monkeypox transmission to the community remains very low.”
The note said the affected person is isolating until it’s safe for them to be around others. The commission will offer vaccines to exposed contacts, who can continue their normal activities as long as they don’t have symptoms.
Over the weekend, crews cleaned and disinfected the affected school building, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This is a breaking news story that will be updated when more information becomes available.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe.
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September 19, 2022 at 08:31PM
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Adult member of Boston Public Schools community tests positive for monkeypox, officials say - The Boston Globe
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