Why is monkeypox affecting gay community
Monkeypox virus, or MPXV, is an emerging threat to public health. The Nature Health Organization recently declared the current outbreak a global public health emergency.
For decades, several African countries have experienced ongoing outbreaks of MPXV, driven primarily by contact with animals and transmission within households. However, before last year, most people in Europe and North America had never even heard of the disease. That was until the current outbreak among gay, bisexual and other men who hold sex with men.
Debates over the epidemiology of MPXV
Over the past several months, a controversy has raged about whether it’s OK to say that the current MPXV outbreak is primarily affecting gay and bisexual men, and that it is primarily existence spread through close personal contact, such as sex.
Read more: Metaphors matter: Why changing the name 'monkeypox' may support curb the discriminatory language used to discuss it
As a social and behavioural epidemiologist working with marginalized populations, including gay and bisexual men, I consider it’s important that people know that sexual and gender minority men are the primary victims of this MPXV outbreak. I believe this
Since early May, more than 23,000 cases of monkeypox hold 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 get monkeypox, the current outbreak is overwhelmingly affecting sexually active queer, bisexual and other men who possess sex with men. In fact, our recent study which looked at 528 monkeypox infections since the start of the outbreak initiate that 98% of these infections had occurred in this group. Here’s what these men depend on 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 include 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 face, genitals, the chest and back, and on the hands and feet. Some people also experience ve
Monkeypox: Why are homosexual 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 17,000 cases worldwide, World Health Group (WHO) director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus triggered the top level of aware on monkeypox on July 23.
Santé Publique France (SPF), France's public health agency, has recorded 1,567 patients in the country since May. 3% of those have 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 retain in mind that the SPF figures are still incomplete. Screening is just starting and complicated by the evidence that symptoms are nonspecific. "This virus behaves like a great imitator of herpes or
Gay or bisexual men declare concern about monkeypox, are critical of government’s response
Survey respondents who describe themselves as gay or multi-attracted men are especially concerned about the monkeypox outbreak and offer a more negative appraisal of the U.S. government’s response than straight men, according to a new Pew Analyze Center survey. Men who describe themselves as same-sex attracted or bisexual are also more likely to speak they have received or intend to get a monkeypox vaccine.
The United States declared monkeypox a universal health emergency on Aug. 4 as cases spread throughout the country tracking the first reported case on May 17. The vast majority of reported monkeypox cases have been among men who contain sex with men. Members of the LGBTQ group have expressed frustration with the government’s response to the outbreak, including the limited availability of vaccines to prevent the disease.
How we did this
Pew Study Center conducted this analyze to understand Americans’ views about the monkeypox outbreak. Responses come from a Center survey of 10,588 U.S. adults conducted Sept. 13 to 18, 2022.
Everyone who took part in the survey is a member of the Center’s American Tr
Monkeypox and gay men: Separating stigma from health advice
BBC News
A large proportion of monkeypox cases diagnosed in the UK are among gay and attracted to both genders men.
Doctors and public-health experts have spoken to the BBC about the "delicate balance" of keeping those currently most at uncertainty informed, without stigmatising them or letting others get complacent.
Does monkeypox spread faster among gay and bisexual men?
The concise answer is no. Anyone can be infected by monkeypox.
The virus is not a sexually transmitted infection. It's mostly caught through close physical skin-to-skin contact, which is why it can be spread to sexual partners.
But with most confirmed cases among men who own sex with men, doctors are encouraging this organization to be particularly sharp to symptoms.
Mateo Prochazka, an epidemiologist from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said: "The infections are not about sexuality. We are concerned about monkeypox in general, as a public threat. We are worried about everyone's health."