How is there not a monkeypox thread?

[Moliere]

Anyone worried about this thing? Sounds like it’s mostly spreading through gay male intercourse. But cases keep rising. Looks like the guy that gave the controversial commencement speech at BYU contracted it.

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[Bo Diddley]

I was reading that the smallpox vaccination offers protection. I've had two--one as an infant, and one right before going to Iraq in '03.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Am I worried? I responded to a similar question eleven minutes after KL posted it in early February 2020 . No problem!, I said. I think I'll hold off answering this one. I intend to refrain from sexual congress with other males, however.

[Jeff Lebowski]

People have pandemic fatigue. And it doesn't seem too threatening because for most people it is pretty easy to avoid gay sex with strangers.

[BigFatMeanie]

Note that it's not solely sexually transmitted. It can be transmitted by simple common contact - from towels, bedding, incidental skin-to-skin contact, etc.

[BigPiney]

People have pandemic fatigue. And it doesn't seem too threatening because for most people it is pretty easy to avoid gay sex with strangers.

well there go my weekend plans

[Northwestcoug]

Note that it's not solely sexually transmitted. It can be transmitted by simple common contact - from towels, bedding, incidental skin-to-skin contact, etc.

Yep. Think of smallpox lite with a sexual contact upgrade. It doesn't seem to be nearly as contagious respiratory-wise as smallpox, but that still needs to be worked out.

[Moliere]

Yep. Think of smallpox lite with a sexual contact upgrade. It doesn't seem to be nearly as contagious respiratory-wise as smallpox, but that still needs to be worked out.

It seems the messaging on this one is falling flat and the vaccine roll out has been horrible. Luckily for Biden it’s much less contagious and also not really deadly.

[LVAllen]

Anyone worried about this thing? Sounds like it’s mostly spreading through gay male intercourse. But cases keep rising. Looks like the guy that gave the controversial commencement speech at BYU contracted it.

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The main vector isn't sexual intercourse. Gay men might simply be more inclined than the general public to get new and suspicious lesions checked out quickly.

[USUC]

The main vector isn't sexual intercourse. Gay men might simply be more inclined than the general public to get new and suspicious lesions checked out quickly.

But its prevalence among the gay community is the reason why the messaging and approach to this from public health officials has been so convoluted. The political consequences of messaging limits them. It shouldn't be hard to say that this isn't a gay man's disease, but that a particular behavior among some within the gay community has led to a rapid spread of the virus within the group that is participating in said behavior. I mean, wrestlers are at a higher risk of ringworm than the general population. Refusing to address the elephant in the room seems foolish.

[Northwestcoug]

But its prevalence among the gay community is the reason why the messaging and approach to this from public health officials has been so convoluted. The political consequences of messaging limits them. It shouldn't be hard to say that this isn't a gay man's disease, but that a particular behavior among some within the gay community has led to a rapid spread of the virus within the group that is participating in said behavior. I mean, wrestlers are at a higher risk of ringworm than the general population. Refusing to address the elephant in the room seems foolish.

Yeah there is some truth to this. A lot of it is pandemic fatigue as Jeff said. I would hope that in the absence of that advocacy groups would be more responsible. But it's humanity we're talking about.

I think the risk of super spreader events is relatively low. You're most infectious when lesions are visible, so hopefully people will not engage in risky behavior when the sores are seen.