Why is monkey pox primarily in gay men

While anyone can get monkeypox, the current outbreak is overwhelmingly affecting sexually active gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. Monkeypox: Why are gay and bisexual men more affected? Regardless of sexual orientation, the main factor of propagation remains the multiplicity of sexual partners. And other factors may have made the outbreak worse. Monkeypox may have mutated in ways that allow it to transmit more easily, and the share of the population who have had the smallpox vaccine—which also offers some protection against monkeypox—is declining because smallpox vaccination was abandoned worldwide starting in the s.

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 level. All but one case occurred among men, and many were among gay and bisexual men. No one is known to have died in the current outbreak. How is monkeypox spread?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Monkeypox spreads between people primarily through direct contact with infectious sores, scabs, or body fluids. Profile My News Sign Out. It's mostly caught through close physical skin-to-skin contact, which is why it can be spread to sexual partners. Scientists note these findings do not confirm that semen transmits the virus. Given the scale of the outbreak, the World Health Organization WHO has now declared the current monkeypox epidemic a global health emergency.

Read more: Metaphors matter: Why changing the name 'monkeypox' may help curb the discriminatory language used to discuss it.

Why it’s important to tell people that monkeypox is predominately affecting gay and bisexual men

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. Dr Prochazka says as case numbers are so small, experts aren't advising people to change personal behaviour but to be "hyper-vigilant. People are smarter, more pragmatic, and more compassionate than we give them credit for.

Varma, an infectious disease expert at Weill Cornell Medicine. Condom use among gay and bisexual men has steadily declined since HIV became a treatable infection in Some health authorities, including in the United Kingdom, have advised men who have recovered from monkeypox to wear a condom during sex for eight weeks as a precaution, should the virus remain in semen.

In fact, for one year of marginal life gained, there was a 15 per cent increase in the odds that participants chose that program. Search Search. Follow NBC News. What is Monkeypox? Anyone can be infected by monkeypox. NBC News Logo. People generally preferred interventions for common chronic diseases — such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer — and were less likely to favour interventions for behaviour-related conditions , such as sexually transmitted infections.

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. With fears mounting among infectious disease experts that the virus will become endemic in the U. We know that the virus can persist on surfaces for a long time — sometimes up to several weeks. Since early May, more than 23, cases of monkeypox have been reported worldwide.

It is true that MPXV can transmit through more casual contact and through fomites inanimate objects on which some microbes can survive, such as bed linens, towels or tables. So it really does seem to require pretty close, intimate contact to be transmitted. If you don't have any symptoms and you're due to attend a regular sexual-health check-up, you're urged to go ahead as planned.

Dr Prochazka says it's not clear why there is a higher proportion of cases among gay men. We asked participants to choose between two hypothetical public health programs across eight head-to-head comparisons. Monkeypox virus, or MPXV, is an emerging threat to public health.

But public health messages are most effective when targeted at people who are most at risk of a particular condition. The short answer is no. Typically this means skin-to-skin contact, especially contact with the rashes and skin lesions caused by the disease.