Why are gay men more at risk of monkey pox

While anyone can get monkeypox, the current outbreak is overwhelmingly affecting sexually active gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. According to emerging viruses specialist Yannick Simonin, anyone who has close physical contact with another person who has contracted monkeypox is at risk, regardless of their sexual orientation.

Monkeypox: an expert explains what gay and bisexual men need to know

Monkeypox (mpox) has disproportionately affected are gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM); the percentage of MSM with immunity due to vaccination or infection varies among jurisdictions. Monkeypox has been spreading primarily through skin-to-skin contact during sex among gay and bisexual men, public health officials say. About 98% of patients who provided demographic.

Does monkeypox spread faster among gay and bisexual men? The short answer is no. Anyone can be infected by monkeypox. The virus is not a sexually transmitted infection. It's mostly caught. The advent over the past decade of the HIV prevention pill along with scientific proof that treating HIV prevents transmission has hastened that decline. But the person-to-person transmission that has been happening in countries outside western and Central Africa in recent weeks is new.

This way, nearly all U. In fact, symptoms are quite similar to smallpox and include why, headache, muscle aches, chills, cold symptoms such as a cough or sore throat. In the United States, confirmed cases of monkeypox have increased dramatically in recent weeks, to 2, as of Thursday. Jaime Garcia-Iglesias, a man more at the University of Edinburgh who has studied how Aids and Covid affected certain communities, says there's a "significant risk" that the stigma "comes to the surface again" and might stop people from seeking the help they need.

The new paper addressed the still open question of whether monkeypox might transmit through semen. Dr Prochazka says when a new threat enters a network of people "we do our best to suppress it. Although public health agencies such as the WHO, CDC, ECDC and UKHSA have already done a lot to provide clear, non-stigmatising guidance to at-risk groups, it may be important ensure this information is now disseminated in places where they will have the greatest impact — such as on dating apps, for example.

Scientists note these findings do not confirm that semen transmits the virus. Alex Sparrowhawk, from the trust's health improvement team, says they're worried people might mistakenly regard monkeypox as a so-called gay disease and says everyone needs to be aware of the risks and symptoms. The outbreak, which epidemiologists believe initially began in mid-spring gatherings of gay and bisexual men in Europe, has since alarmed such experts by ballooning to nearly 16, monkeys pox worldwide.

The virus is not a sexually transmitted infection. Despite some public health officials, including those at the CDC, cautioning the public about the risk of household transmission of monkeypox, just three of the cases, or 0. Got a new rash?

And for many people, the disease is relatively mild and resolves on its own in a few weeks without any need for medical intervention. Typically this means skin-to-skin contact, especially contact with the rashes and skin lesions caused by the disease. Varma, an infectious disease expert at Weill Cornell Medicine. In the new global study, the men had a median age of 38 and ranged between 18 and 68 years old.

Nobody wants to repeat that. Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis, along with responses, and its methodology. IE 11 is not supported. Thirteen percent of the men were hospitalized, most commonly for severe pain, in particular anorectal pain. Share This Link:. Anyone can be infected by monkeypox. The declaration of a worldwide pandemic by the WHO will hopefully serve to co-ordinate the global response and open up the possibility of mass production of several vaccines with access for all.

Monkeypox and gay men: Separating stigma from health advice

Monkeypox spreads through close physical contact with an infected person. Men who describe themselves as gay or bisexual are also more likely to say they have received or intend to get a monkeypox vaccine. This means that it can spread in households through any close personal contact with an infected person — not just as a result of sexual intimacy. Doctors and public-health experts have spoken to the BBC about the "delicate balance" of keeping those currently most at risk informed, without stigmatising them or letting others become complacent.

Dr Prochazka says it's not clear why there is a higher proportion of cases among gay men.