Monkeypox only for gays
Since early May, more than 23, cases of monkeypox have been reported worldwide. This is the largest ever global outbreak of the disease.
Cases have now been reported in 78 countries including the UK, Spain, Germany, France, the US and Brazil. Given the scale of the outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) has now declared the current monkeypox epidemic a global health emergency.
While anyone can fetch monkeypox, the current outbreak is overwhelmingly affecting sexually active male lover, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. In fact, our recent study which looked at monkeypox infections since the start of the outbreak found that 98% of these infections had occurred in this group. Here’s what these men need to know.
How it spreads
Monkeypox is a disease caused by infection with the human monkeypox virus, which comes from the same virus family as smallpox. In fact, symptoms are quite similar to smallpox and encompass fever, headache, muscle aches, chills, cold symptoms (such as a cough or sore throat).
Symptoms are also accompanied by a rash that appears in blisters on the
Monkeypox: Why are gay and bisexual men more affected?
Regardless of sexual orientation, the main factor of propagation remains the multiplicity of sexual partners.
As of July 26, Monkeypox has not caused any deaths in Europe, but the disease is gaining ground. With nearly 17, cases worldwide, World Health Organization (WHO) director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus triggered the extreme level of alert on monkeypox on July
Santé Publique France (SPF), France's public health agency, has recorded 1, patients in the country since May. 3% of those possess been hospitalized. This epidemic differs from the waves observed so far in a dozen African countries, notably in the patients' profile: almost exclusively men, most of them males who have sex with males, known as "MSM" in the scientific community.
Read moreMonkeypox: How is it transmitted and what are the symptoms?
The question is why MSM are overrepresented among the affected. First, it is important to keep in mind that the SPF figures are still incomplete. Screening is just starting and complicated by the
‘I felt like I was dirty’: experiences of gay men diagnosed with mpox in England
“After I left the clinic, I got very emotional. Not because I had monkeypox…But I felt let down by the way the discourse, and the way that the infection, the virus or whatever it is, was organism portrayed as skillfully. It took me to a place where I just didn’t expect to feel in terms of my trial, as a lgbtq+ man, with lots of privilege in lots of ways. Usually I felt like I had dignity in the [health] service and the way I am treated by the government and the likes of that. And it just kind of really sped away suddenly.”
A recent study found that men diagnosed with mpox, clinicians and community stakeholders consider that the government's perceived inaction towards the illness was due to its association with stigmatised sexual minorities. This systemic failure was often compared to the initial response to the AIDS crisis.
Glossary
stigma
Social attitudes that suggest that having a particular illness or being in a particular situation is something to be ashamed of. Stigma can be questioned and
mpox (Monkeypox): What You Need to Know
The CDC has raised the alert level on a mpox (monkeypox) outbreak in the United States and HHS announced that it will be ramping up testing and a vaccine distribution for those most at-risk, which includes some members of the Diverse community and people living with HIV.
mpox is a disease that can build you sick, including a rash, which may gaze like pimples or blisters, often with an earlier flu-like illness. While the current outbreak in the U.S. has high rates of known cases among gay and bisexual men and transgender and genderqueer people, this virus is not limited by gender or sexuality and can spread to anyone, anywhere through close, personal, often skin-to-skin contact.
Health officials and advocates are urging people to seek treatment and available prevention options, including vaccines when available.
What You Need to Comprehend
mpox (monkeypox) is a disease caused by the mpox virus, which is in the same family as smallpox, although much less severe. Its call is characterized by the pox illness that occurs upon infec