Have you heard that monkeypox is primarily a "gay disease"?

Yes. It seems to be spreading among gays as rapidly as AIDS was back in the early 80’s. Best to wear protection!!

No.
I have heard that it’s an “potentially everybody” disease.
If one informs themselves one knows that too.

Also, it is not exclusively gay men that are represented in that number you wrote, but also men that have sex with other men.

It is getting a lot of attention elsewhere.

@Demosthenes I think what @rebbel is saying is that not all men who have sex with men are gay or even bi. There are straight men who have sex with men. It’s actually a rising trend.

I took notice of the outbreak when it first hit the news. There are 11 cases in Hawaii, and even though the number is low, I have restricted my sex partners to a regular group to lessen my chances of contracting the disease.

I’m old enough that I received the smallpox vaccine, and I read that provides some benefit since this disease is closely related. Still, if offered, I will get the monkeypox vaccine. They only sent a small number of doses here, so it’s not widely available. It’s being limited to people at highest risk.

@Hawaii_Jake Doses have been limited here too, but I agree, I will probably get it too if and when it becomes available.

And I understand, “men who have sex with men” is not synonymous with “gay” but only one community is being strongly affected here, so it felt like “all lives matter/what about the straights” BS to me, especially when I acknowledged that anyone can get it.

It seems to be a reality that most of the known monkeypox cases involve homosexual contact. That isn’t being said to stigmatize gays or anything else…it is just a fact.

When Covid came out, there was all sorts of outcry that everyone had to get vaccinated “for the public good” and wear masks “for the public good” and social distance “for the public good”. It was acceptable to violate HIPAA laws and ask about your health issues and your vaccination status “for the public good”. So why is it wrong to identify where this disease seems to be spreading the most? For the public good, wouldn’t that be good information to let the public know?

It is good and useful to know and I do not think it is stigmatizing. That’s part of why I posted this. I have so far seen little negative or stereotyping talk about it.

@seawulf575 “It was acceptable to violate HIPAA laws and ask about your health issues and your vaccination status “for the public good”.”

He is the law “The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a federal law that required the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge.”

If the person gives their own info it is not against the law.

@Tropical_Willie That is true. But if your company tells you to release that information or get fired, it is a violation. To even ask is questionable. You can’t ask about anyone’s health issues during a job interview. You can’t ask health questions during working hours at all or be in violation.

And to consider vaccine passports? You are coercing people to release their health information…all in the name of the public good.

There’s going to be a lot of campaigning and propaganda against gay people now, again….because capitalism needs bodies to use and abuse.

People deciding to not have kids or not have 4 of them, is gonna hurt the economy.

And it should.

If they really want people to have kids, stop this $2,200 rent crap.

I hadn’t heard that. I received a message this morning about Monkeypox & I don’t remember anything in it related to it being a “gay” disease.This has a lot of info from WHO & most of what I read indicated it begins as animal to human contact & spreads human to human from there.

Here’s a relevant and informative article from NPR.

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/06/03/1102945017/monkeypox-signs-symptoms-rash?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews

I’ve heard it’s currently showing up more in gay communities, but in no way does that mean to me it is a “gay disease” or that only gay people can get it. All it means to me is the outbreak has hit gay communities more at this time. I assume someone who is gay traveled or contracted it somehow and passed it on. No different than if a child gets it and gives it to lots of people in a school. It’s just a report on where the outbreaks are.

What is a “gay disease”? Like Saturday Night Fever?

It isn’t so much that it is a “gay disease” but that infection has been through intimate contact and the first “outbreak” came from a rave dance party involving male/male intimacy.

The gay community learned forty years ago to communicate health risks to each other because labeling it as a “gay disease” results in people dying from indifference and prejudice.

Monkey pox is not a sexually transmitted disease, but transmission can occur with intimate contact including kissing, close presence with breathing in exhalations, or contact with skin rashes.

https://apnews.com/article/monkeypox-the-next-std-3266fd0ae451578c989605f430cd3897

This article speaks of it as an STD, though I don’t whether that’s actually been determined. The disease does not seem to spread easily the way COVID does, but although I said 95% among MSM, it actually seems to be 99%. Seeing it outside of that group would be the moment it becomes a more widespread epidemic.

Living here, everyone has heard that the infection is most prevalent in the gay community. But “primarily” is the standard misuse of language that allows dummies to assume they are not at risk. It is rather appalling that upon outbreak of a new contagion, it may somehow be assumed that it will be restricted to communities first infected. The internet has allowed those slow of wit to slide past “communicable” and its implications. You know what strikes me as the thing most significant yet neglected regarding covid? It is the first of our pandemics to have the internet as a primary factor in its proliferation and morbidity. I bitterly recall upon the appearance of covid, the lame arguments proffered right here on how the disease was being exaggerated for political reasons. The magahats flocked to lemonhead’s death rallies in droves of defiance of his own public health authorities, as well as conventions accepted as valid medical cautions for better than 100 years. The multitude of corpses and those crippled for life through that orange idiot’s tweets reinforced in solidarity by his like minded crowd should not be underestimated. That these people now have the means to readily join in solidarity, disseminating any absurdity assures us a never ending pool of antivaxers and covid deniers for the strains to mutate into ever more problematic variants. And this is the predictable future regarding any future infections. Contrary to the apparent belief of far too many of us, stupidity is no check on contagion.

Being naked with a lot of different people makes you vulnerable to a lot of diseases, gay or straight. Everything from the common cold (because during sex you are close to each other) to the STI’s we commonly know of, to skin viruses that like to hang out in moist areas like molluscum. Sex is a playground for lots of infectious diseases. Multiple partners just make your chances more likely you will catch something, especially if your multiple partners have multiple partners. That isn’t a moral judgment, it is an infectious disease fact.

I guess you can think of Monkey Pox as an STI, but it is not the only way to get it, so I am wary of calling it an STI. I think you can actually catch it from droplets in the air, not just from contact with the blisters or saliva. The virus getting into broken skin or mucous membranes is a transmission route from what I understand. Is the virus in semen, is that the problem?

It’s hard to kill the virus on surfaces and your hands. Washing with soap and water works well, but the hand wipes commonly used do nothing! You have to use bleach and I think alcohol works too, so hand sanitizer made with alcohol probably works. Obviously, look it up if you have reason to think you are in a high risk situation.

@JLeslie No, the virus is NOT in semen.

Since you posted this Q, I’ve been paying closer attention. I’ve only seen ONE article that indicated that is was a “gay disease”. Most others have commented that it is spread through “bodily fluids” which can also be a “hetero disease”. I’ve also seen more & more articles pointing our that it is spread more rapidly by children so possibly a “juvenile disease”.

Being spread by “bodily fluids” in my opinion covers just about EVERYBODY on the planet. Kiss your spouse or your child, your Mom or Dad…you’re possibly infected. Sneeze in the grocery store & you’ve possibly infected dozens of people. I don’t think Monkeypox will kill you, but it is quite painful & uncomfortable.

I suggest thtat you STOP listening to the MSM & check more on the CDC website or your local health department website.

@zenvelo Thanks!

CDC really botched the messaging. Part of why they are targeting gay men with vaccinations is that while monkey pox is rarely fatal, it could be in those with AIDS.

@kruger_d I don’t think that’s why, but obviously anyone with HIV needs to be hyper vigilant about avoiding infections. The outbreak is primarily hitting gay people right now, so they are most at risk of catching it. Everything I’ve read talks about being in a group that gives the individual high risk of exposure and not so much that they have high risk of severe disease. The recommendations are for the the gay community, hospital workers likely to come in contact and lab workers.

I haven’t seen recommendations for HIV positive people to be prioritized, although it makes sense to me they would be.

Yeah, I’m still unsure what to make of all this. Is it truly just happenstance that 99% of cases are among gay/bi men? Is there some other explanation for this? Maybe we will find out in the coming weeks and months. In either case, I understand that calling it a “gay disease” can be harmful (apparently Dave Chappelle has already made it part of his routine, but he’s a piece of shit that people should be ashamed of having once liked).

I’ve NEVER been a fan of Chappelle. He has seconds of funny with minutes of repulse in between!!! I didn’t miss him while he was gone & I don’t support him now that he’s back!!!

I wouldn’t be so quick to accept Monkeypox as a “gay disease”. It may be spreading through our gay population right now, but that will change in time. Most of what I’ve read indicates that it will be spreading among our children soon who will be bringing it home to Mom & Dad.

Passed via respiratory, break in skin, and mucous membranes from what I read. https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/transmission.html

I read it is in semen, but they aren’t sure it’s being spread that way. Maybe it’s not in large enough quantities. Here’s an article. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/06/who-says-its-investigating-monkeypox-dna-semen

@Demosthenes I don’t understand what you mean by you don’t know what to make of it. It would be the same as if it was hitting Amish communities. They congregate together. Or, if there was an outbreak where I live in The Villages.

If it’s traveling a lot in the gay community then if the gay community just stands still and takes extra precautions for a few weeks then they not only help themselves they help everyone. It would be great if everyone was a little more cautious for a few weeks not only because on Monkey Pox, but covid too. Although, once school goes back in session covid will likely finally go back down again. I hope.

I heard two days ago a young child has Monkey Pox. I wasn’t sure why that’s newsworthy, is it the first child in the US? They said he had contact with a gay man or men.

I feel like anyone can get it. I don’t see why we don’t try to stop the spread. Why not be less kissy huggy for three weeks all at once? Eh, the country won’t do it.

I have an appointment in mid August to get the vaccine.

Has anyone on the thread heard anything about our old smallpox vaccinations from the 1960’s being effective?

Edit: https://www.health.com/news/does-smallpox-vaccine-protect-against-monkeypox

@JLeslie Yes I’ve heard that. I think that is the basis for any vaccine they are going to make. But I’d be willing to bet they won’t use the same style of vaccine. Smallpox vaccine is actually a live virus…the vaccinia virus…that is similar in nature to the smallpox virus but far less harmful to humans. Your immune system will react to the vaccinia virus and learn how to fight other viruses like that. But I’m willing to be they will want to “create” some new style with unproven technology to claim it will keep you from getting the disease.

In the last two days I’ve noticed my local TV channel in North Carolina does talk about it being spread mostly in LGBTQ community and then they say mostly among men who sleep with men and then they say it is dangerous to stigmatize any group and then they say anyone can get it. I wrote that long run-on sentence, because they say it all in one breath. Trying to be PC I guess and at the same time giving the facts.

Has anyone heard it’s hitting lesbians a lot? I’m not so sure the L in LGBTQ is accurate regarding risk right now.

First I’ve heard of it.