Why do gays get monkeypox more

While anyone can get monkeypox, the current outbreak is overwhelmingly affecting sexually active gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. In fact, our recent study which looked at. 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 and gay men: Separating stigma from health advice

Ever since monkeypox started to sicken thousands of people worldwide this spring, two big questions have loomed: Why is a virus that has never managed to spread beyond a few cases outside Africa suddenly causing such a big, global outbreak? And why are the overwhelming majority of those affected men who have sex with men (MSM)?. Anyone can get monkeypox, but in the latest outbreak, the virus is predominantly spreading among gay and bisexual men.

Officials noted Monday that most of the people affected reported some. Monkeypox (mpox) has disproportionately affected 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. Scientists are investigating whether the infection was introduced via a combination of single transmissions or, whether so-called "super-spreader" events, such as a festival, may have resulted in more people catching it at one time.

In fact, symptoms are quite similar to smallpox and include fever, headache, muscle aches, chills, cold symptoms such as a cough or sore throat. 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. But it can also be spread through large respiratory droplets such as coughing and sneezing.

Monkeypox virus, or MPXV, is an emerging threat to public health. Dr Prochazka says when a new threat enters a network of people "we do our best to suppress it. There are already reports of infections in both women and children. Dr Prochazka says as case numbers are so small, experts aren't advising people to change personal behaviour but to be "hyper-vigilant. The World Health Organization recently declared the current outbreak a global public health emergency.

For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Of those who received testing, 29 percent had a sexually transmitted infection, or STI. However, before last year, most people in Europe and North America had never even heard of the disease. While these statistics are undisputed, some have feared that identifying sexual behaviour as the primary cause of current MPXV transmission would dampen the public health response.

Now infectious disease specialists are developing an increasingly refined understanding of the predominant conduits of monkeypox transmission, as well as the typical disease course patterns. What is Monkeypox? New York City, the U. Dating apps, such as Grindr, are also advising users about what to look out for. Link copied.

NBC News Logo. Dr Prochazka says it's not clear why there is a higher proportion of cases among gay men. If given between four and 14 days after exposure to monkeypox, the vaccine may potentially reduce symptoms of the disease. He says: "It just happens that the infection appears to have been introduced in networks of gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men.

The question is whether it will be fast enough. The new paper addressed the still open question of whether monkeypox might transmit through semen. There is a theory that a return of demand for international travel since Covid lockdowns were eased could have played a part in the initial spread. But public health messages are most effective when targeted at people who are most at risk of a particular condition.

Having HIV was not associated with any differences in monkeypox health outcomes. Got a new rash? However, in public health, honesty really is the best policy. The global monkeypox outbreak is primarily being driven by sex between men, according to the first major peer-reviewed paper to analyze a large set of cases of the virus. The recent sharp rise in U.