The LSU Office of Communications and University Relations sent an email Monday updating faculty, staff and students about monkeypox and what the university is doing to prepare for possible cases on campus.
The email stated that the Office of Emergency preparedness, Student Health Center and Residential Life are working with Our Lady of the Lake and Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System to ensure testing capacity and protocols are in place. 
The Office of Emergency Preparedness is also participating in Louisiana Department of Health briefings and will implement recommended protocols for students, faculty and staff.
LSU and the Louisiana Department of Health will work together to conduct contract tracing for anyone who becomes infected and also offer the vaccine for high-risk exposures.
Monkeypox is a viral illness that can cause a rash that may look like blisters or pimples with flu-like symptoms including fever and chills, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes and exhaustion.
Monkeypox can be spread through skin-to-skin contact with an infected person, direct contact with bodily fluids and skin lesions of an infected person or respiratory secretions from prolonged face-to-face contact.
The Biden Administration declared Monkeypox a public health emergency on Aug. 4. 
In addition to contact tracing, the Office of Emergency Preparedness will provide PPE to responding staff; hazardous waste will be removed from campus by LSU Environmental Health and Safety; and educational information will be offered by LSU to help people protect themselves.
The email also stated guidelines on what to do if you have been exposed to monkeypox:

• Contact your healthcare provider and avoid close contacts with others until you’ve been examined.
• Avoid gatherings, especially if close or intimate contact is involved.
• Inform Residential Life if you live on campus.
• If possible, return home to isolate until rash is healed and symptoms are resolved.
• Stay in a separate room away from people or pets.
• Do not attend class.

LSU suggests those with monkeypox or possible exposure notify instructors as early as possible and provide appropriate documentation.
The email also offered measures for prevention including:

• Avoid skin-to-skin and close contact with people that have rashes similar to monkeypox.
• Do not kiss, hug, cuddle or have sex with someone with monkeypox.
• Do not share eating utensils, cups, lip balms or cigarettes with someone with monkeypox.
• Do not handle or touch the bedding, towels or clothing of a person with monkeypox.
• Sanitize shared gym equipment before and after each use.
• Wash your hands with soap and water or use an alcohol-bases hand sanitizer.
• Consult a medical provider if you believe you have been exposed.

There is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved vaccine, but it is not widely available at this time and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently does not recommend widespread vaccination, according to the email.