Monkey pox has affected many people so far. Many cases of this are emerging in India as well. Monkeypox is considered a public health emergency in many countries because of its potential to spread rapidly. The virus is transmitted exclusively through the sexual networks of gay men, but it can also spread through other forms of close contact. As such, monkeypox may be reclassified as a sexually transmitted infection (monkeypox as an STI) by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Know what the numbers say
The US National Health Agency Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that monkeypox accounts for 94% of cases in gay men and 99% of men overall. Figures from the UK Health Protection Agency (UKHSA) show that there are now over 3,000 cases in the UK, of which 97 per cent are gay men.
How is monkeypox spread?
Coming into direct contact with the monkeypox rash or body fluids of a person suffering from monkeypox.
Touching objects, clothing (clothing, bedding or towels) and surfaces that have been used by someone with monkeypox.
exposure to respiratory secretions
Touching the mouth, anus and vagina, sex or genitalia (penis, testicles, lips and vagina) or anus (buttock) of a person with monkeypox.
Hugging, massaging and kissing.
Stay in face-to-face contact for longer periods of time.
Touching clothing and objects during sex that have been used by a person with monkeypox and that have not been disinfected, such as bedding, towels, fetish equipment and sex toys.
Why can monkeypox be a sexually transmitted disease?
Many studies believe that the viral outbreak known as monkeypox is a sexually transmitted disease, which is more likely to infect gay men. In the past month, three new studies have concluded that monkeypox is primarily transmitted through sexual intercourse between men. As earlier data suggested, it was caused by skin-to-skin contact during sex.
Published in the prestigious British medical journal Lancet, the monkeypox studies also refute that monkeypox is not transmitted by skin-to-skin contact alone. It is also spread through the seminal fluid.
