In the US, monkeypox and misconceptions are running rampant. From June to August, American cases rose from 4% to 34% of the world total in just two months - that's 30 percentage points.
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As of today, US cases account for 1/3 of the world’s total monkeypox infections. But the US is big, and CDC data cited in Newsweekreports that nearly 39,050 of the 39,434 monkeypox cases recorded globally have been identified in never-before-seen locations.
Monkeypox isn’t the only thing spreading
Alongside monkeypox, misinformation about the virus is spreading.
While males who have same-sex relations have received ‘a lot of attention’ for being affected. Texas A&M epidemiologist, Rebecca S.B. Fischer, says it is unfair to believe that other ‘social networks and situations are remaining unscathed.’
Take the case of Camille Seaton, for example. The Georgia resident was diagnosed with monkeypox despite claiming it didn’t happen through sex.
Seaton, the first woman in the Peach State to be diagnosed, says she suspects to have contracted the virus by handling dirty money at her job in a gas station. According to the New York Post, she said the following in a TikTok video:
I’m here to tell you again that sex is not the only way to contract this virus. Yes, it’s mostly been men who have gotten it – I’m only the first woman to have gotten it in the state of Georgia – but all people are different.
She also stated:
The virus isn’t airborne but it might as well be. You can catch it from sitting in a confined space with somebody that has it – a car, a plane, a room.
Media coverage may influence public perceptions
Joseph Osmundson, a biologist at New York University, estimates that around 98% of monkeypox cases impact ‘gay and bisexual men’, but Seaton’s diagnosis shows that anyonecan get monkeypox.
Yet, when media coverage focuses mostly on the experiences of LGBTQ+ males – such as the rotting of a German man’s nose due the combination of AIDS and monkeypox – those who do not identify with this group could be given a false sense of immunity.
As monkeypox continues to travel the globe, increased research is needed in order to more accurately assess risk factors. Until then, practice good hygiene and do your best to stay healthy. The symptoms of monkeypox are nothing to mess around with.
Read more:
⋙ Monkeypox or pimples? How to tell the difference
⋙ Dog gets monkeypox from its owners. Does this change what we know about the virus?
