Not the worst idea to wipe down machines before/after use as a general rule, monkeypox or not.
I _am_ annoyed that the guidance on how it spreads keeps getting broadened. Initially it was supposed to be fluids or skin-to-skin contact ("ok, easy, no cuddling with active rashes for now").
Now the guidance says it can be carried on cloth (e.g. linens). But really, the virus doesn't know that much about what surface it's on, right? And indeed the CDC public-facing guidance does say that it can spread from "shared surfaces, and objects, such as bedding, towels, and sex toys, that were used by a person with monkeypox", but only under a collapsible heading "Can I get monkeypox from having sex?" I.e. they recognize that surfaces can carry it, but perhaps there needs to be a lot of contact with the surface in question. But if, for example, I'm unaware I'm infected but I lie on a pool-side lounge chair which someone else then uses ... couldn't that be comparable shared contact as a bedsheet? Is that so far off from contact with a bench at the gym?
Slightly more concerning is:
> "It also can be spread by respiratory secretions during prolonged, face-to-face contact"
The same page includes "talking closely" as a form of "intimate contact". So it does sound like it can be spread by airborne particles but perhaps less easily than the other viruses we've all been dealing with. If there are a few treadmills in small, not especially well ventilated room, at what point do two people running there share respiratory particles which are comparable to prolonged face-to-face contact?
It feels like they don't have a for sure good idea so they are covering all their bases just to be safe.
actually, it might. Porous vs impermeable surfaces can affect how long a viral particle remains infectious.
Could also be potential electrostatic effects, copper for example.
Not that many people have stainless steel bedsheets...
It is odd they tie bedsheets to sex contact alone. Eg if you sometimes co-sleep, that itself is a vector. Though good chances are you are also having sex with your sleeping partner.
There is a time element as well. If someone with the disease laid out on your sofa yesterday and it's dried out since, you're fine. It also probably requires sustained (and probably wet - eg sweat) contact.
Source: https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.E...
Even after they recover, they are still very infectious: https://twitter.com/alexmeshkin/status/1543313032817917953
And yes, someone with Monkeypox went to a gym after feeling sick (https://twitter.com/KxngRudy/status/1545893342994644994).