Why do gay men get monkey pox

This may be due to changes in the fundamental transmission dynamic of MPXV or due to enhanced cleaning procedures implemented in response to COVID in places such as gyms and restrooms. The bias against behavioural interventions and those tailored for key populations was overcome when the programs addressed a health condition that was widely understood to be linked to the population the program was tailored to.

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. 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.

However, months into the current outbreak, we have not seen these routes emerge as important pathways of transmission. Others have warned that connecting MPXV to an already stigmatized community will worsen stigma towards gay sex. We asked participants to choose between two hypothetical public health programs across eight head-to-head comparisons.

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. We found that people tended to favour interventions that focused on treatment rather than prevention.

While anyone can get monkeypox, the current outbreak is overwhelmingly affecting sexually active gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. Ending MPXV quickly is critical, especially since the virus has the potential to evolve in ways that could make the disease more infectious.

For decades, several African countries have experienced ongoing outbreaks of MPXV , driven primarily by contact with animals and transmission within households. This study highlights why it is important to educate the public about health inequities. People generally preferred programs focused on the general population as opposed to those tailored for key marginalized populations.

Officials noted Monday that most of the people affected reported some. From our analyses of this data, we learned a lot about how the public wants public health dollars to be spent and how their knowledge and bias shapes these preferences. People are smarter, more pragmatic, and more compassionate than we give them credit for.

The World Health Organization recently declared the current outbreak a global public health emergency. However, before last year, most people in Europe and North America had never even heard of the disease. For example, people were more likely to support interventions for sexually transmitted infections when these interventions were tailored for people engaged in sex work or for gay and bisexual men.

Anyone can get monkeypox, but in the latest outbreak, the virus is predominantly spreading among gay and bisexual men. If we take the time to share evidence with them about the challenges that stigmatized communities face, they will be more willing to support policies and efforts to address these challenges.

I believe this knowledge will help us end the outbreak before it bridges into other communities. Read more: Metaphors matter: Why changing the name 'monkeypox' may help curb the discriminatory language used to discuss it. There were five major takeaways:. And why are the overwhelming majority of those affected men who have sex with men (MSM)?

Descriptions for each hypothetical program identified the number of years of life gained by patients, the health condition it addressed and the population it was tailored for. While this approach is emotionally intuitive, large bodies of evidence suggest that it is more cost-effective to prevent disease than to treat it.

A long history of work on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and early studies of the current outbreak suggest the answers may be linked: The virus may have made its way into highly interconnected sexual networks within the MSM community, where it can. 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.

Informing the public about MPXV is important because public opinion plays an important role in shaping public health policies , such as who gets access to vaccines and what interventions are used to stop disease transmission. Very few cases are linked to community transmission.

As the old saying goes: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. A recent study conducted by my team aimed to demonstrate the importance of public health education by asking Canadians to participate in a discrete choice experiment. In fact, for one year of marginal life gained, there was a 15 per cent increase in the odds that participants chose that program.

In fact, people were least likely to prefer interventions tailored for sexual and gender minorities. That was until the current outbreak among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. For reference, more than 90 per cent of cases in non-endemic countries have been transmitted through intimate sexual contact, and the vast majority of cases are among gay men.

Monkeypox virus, or MPXV, is an emerging threat to public health.