New York, Jun 11 (IANS): Amid the rising cases of monkeypox, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed that it can spread through the air but only through 'sustained' face-to-face contact with an infected person.

In a briefing on Friday, CDC chief Rochelle Walensky said monkeypox was being passed on through physical contact with symptomatic patients and by touching their clothing and bedding, reports the Daily Mail.

But attempting to clear up whether face masks are needed to avoid catching the rash-causing virus, the epidemiologist explained the rash-causing virus would not 'linger in the air' like Covid.

"The disease is not spread through casual conversations, passing others in a grocery store, or touching things like door knobs," she said.

"All of the cases we have seen to date in this outbreak have been related to direct contact."

During the conference health officials also called on Americans with any sexually transmitted infection, including syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia, to get tested for monkeypox.

They warned many patients were experiencing rashes and sores on the genitals and anus that looked like STIs.

Several cases of co-infection with monkeypox and a sexually transmitted disease have also been recorded.

Walensky stressed that the virus was only transmitted through the air via large droplets expelled from infected people that quickly fall to the ground.