The viral outbreak that occurs almost exclusively in men who have sex with men is likely caused by men who have sex with men, new research suggests.
Three New studies, each published within the last month, conclude that the evidence suggests that monkeypox is transmitted primarily through sex between men, not through skin-to-skin contact that occurs during sex. Many experts and health agencies have previously indicated that monkeypox is largely spread through skin-to-skin contact, which does not necessarily have to occur in a sexual context.
The MONKEYPOX outbreak appears to affect 95-99% of gay men, so okay to be very clear what will direct resources to the most affected community and help contain it. Thanks https://t.co/TW1Jnc3Ik1
— Monica Gandhi MD, MPH (@MonicaGandhi9) August 19, 2022
“Increasing evidence supports that sexual transmission, particularly through seminal fluids, is occurring with the current MPX outbreak,” said Dr. Aniruddha Hazra, medical director of the Sexual Wellness Clinic at the University. ‘University of Chicago. told NBC News.
“It seems very clear to us that this is an infection that is sexually transmitted the vast majority of the time,” said the global health resident physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital Lao-Tzu Allan-Blitz, according to NBC News. .
Jeffrey Klausner, an infectious disease physician at the University of Southern California, who submitted an essay to scientific journals for publication with Allan-Blitz reviewing the evidence that monkey pox is an STD, said there is a variety of evidence that indicates the virus is sexually transmitted beyond just correlating with gay men.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), three-quarters of monkeypox cases are in men between the ages of 18 and 44, which is consistent with the normal age distribution of sexually transmitted infections, Klausner told NBC. The majority of lesions on the patients’ bodies were also found in the oral and anal regions, a sign of sexual transmission, he said. The researchers have also found the virus in semen.
The evidence does not mean that women or heterosexuals cannot be infected with monkeypox, but does explain why the overwhelming majority of cases have occurred in men who have sex with men. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 94% of cases concern men who have sex with men and 99% of cases concern men in general.
Some health experts have cautioned gay and bisexual men against having many or anonymous partners given the increased risk the behavior puts them at. The WHO emitted an official recommendation for men not to have sex with anonymous partners or a high number of partners to protect themselves from an increased risk of monkeypox infection. (RELATED: Man’s nose rots after monkeypox, syphilis and HIV infection)
Yet the CDC has not done no such recommendation, nor did he pivot his posts on monkeypox to treat it as an STD. The agency continues to warn that monkeypox is transmitted through close skin-to-skin contact despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Some experts have said that public health officials are hesitant to treat the virus as a gay STD due to the stigma that can afflict the LGBT community.