Almost half of gay and bi men in the US say they have reduced the amount of sex they have because of the monkeypox outbreak. That’s according to a new survey released by the CDC.
Yesterday, authorities revealed monkeypox has now been detected in all 50 states of the US. The number of cases has topped 14,000. The vast majority of those cases are in men who have sex with men. However, anyone who has close personal contact with someone infected is at risk.
Alongside this news, the CDC released data from a survey it conducted in the first half of August.
It found that 48% of online respondents said they’d reduced their number of sexual partners.
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Fifty percent said they’d reduced their number of one-time sexual encounters.
Forty-nine percent said they’d reduced the sex they enjoyed with men met via dating apps or at sex venues.
In an online survey of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men conducted during August 5-15, 2022, respondents reported changing their behavior because of the #monkeypox outbreak.
For more data on the 2022 U.S. monkeypox outbreak, visit https://t.co/QpblepCma5 pic.twitter.com/kZld53MB96
— CDC (@CDCgov) August 22, 2022
World Health Organization’s advice to gay men
In July, the director general for the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said 98% of the monkeypox cases detected since the outbreaks emerged in May had been among men who have sex with men. He advised them to take action to protect themselves.
“That means making safe choices for yourself and others, for men who have sex with men,” Tedros said. “This includes, for the moment, reducing your number of sexual partners.”
Experts also recommend gay and bi men seek vaccination against the infection.
Last week, US officials announced they were rolling out an extra 1.8million vaccine shots. The increase comes after authorities agreed to give people a fifth of a shot. Experts reckon it’s almost as protective as a full shot and stretches the limited supply currently available (1.8million is equivalent to 360,000 full-dose vials of vaccine).
Related: The FDA just made a big change to monkeypox vaccine strategy
Other health experts say that it’s also a good idea to check potential sexual partners for any signs of monkeypox lesions.
What is monkeypox
Monkeypox is caused by a virus similar to smallpox. Early symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion.
It will often be accompanied by a chickenpox-like rash, with lesions tending to eventually scab over and fall off.
It’s usually a mild, self-limiting illness, and most people will recover within weeks. However, the deadliest variant of the virus can be fatal for up to one in ten of those infected.
The form of the virus currently circulating is milder, with a fatality rate of less than 1 percent.
Anyone who feels unwell and notices an unusual rash should seek medical help.
Related: Things go from bad to worse after doctor notices man “riddled” with monkeypox on crowded subway
Discover more
Covid Hermit
Between Covid and monkeypox, I personally can’t see any reason to hook up with anyone right now. But hey, if you’re addicted to Grindr and don’t mind getting either of those two diseases, I guess more power to you.
GlobeTrotter
One of my closest friends, a doctor, used to throw sex parties once or twice a month, attended by other doctors, judges, lawyers, architects and a certain Monsignor. I never went since the main event was getting yourself fisted while hanging from a sling in the living room – too wild for my blood. But he would send me pictures every now and then just to gross me out, and YES, the pics were indeed gross and nasty. He claimed that as a doctor, he knew what he was doing. Anyway, those sex parties came mostly to an end at the start of Covid.
I wasn’t the least bit surprised therefore to hear about the rapid spread of monkey pox throughout the gay community.
bachy
OMG that sounds repulsive! Sorry to all the fistosexuals but that is one flag I ain’t gonna wave.
GlobeTrotter
@bachy: You wouldn’t believe the things that go on at these fist parties, and I’m sorry to say that I’ve been an unwilling witness via these pics he used to send me. On one occasion his boyfriend punctured his colon while getting fisted and had to be rushed to the emergency room where he almost died! He was hospitalized for weeks because the bacteria in his colon leaked into his bloodstream when a fingernail made a small tear in his colon. He had a high fever for several days, and I swear I’ve never seen anything like this in my life – he was completely blue from head to toe!
bachy
@Globe: people I’ve known who were into fisting were typically drug addicts: usually crystal meth. Is this true of your… friends?
GlobeTrotter
@bachy: They might smoke a joint or two every now and then, but no, they’re not addicted to drugs. If anything, they’re addicted to sex.
Rambeaux
That is some doctor who says that fisting is safe.
He must be a Dermatologist.
bachy
My sexual activity has dropped to ZERO (again).
Our political clout is seriously undermined if we’re repetitively introducing new diseases to the general population, bishes. Nobody gonna support your “rights” if they bring on the bubonic plague.
MISTERJETT
i reduced it because of covid. monkey pox has just added to the situation. it’s been so long, but i want to stay healthy.
Seth
It’s refreshing to see people act responsibly in the face of a crisis, for a change.
Me2
What’s so refreshing about it? How does the sexual behaviors of complete strangers impact your life? Not to mention, monkeypox isn’t an std.
Consider This
In every article I’ve read about men infected with monkeypox, there is one common theme – YOU DON’T WANT THIS.
The guys suffering with this *highly avoidable* disease are dealing with extreme pain for weeks at a time, some so severe they need to be hospitalized to attempt pain control. Many will deal with the permanent facial scarring that follows.
I think I’ll pass. I’ll take precautions so as not to join their numbers. Things will eventually improve and folks can reconsider their options at that time.
Fahd
The subtitle on the article “get jabbed” is misleading. It’s not about encouraging people to get vaccinated, it’s about having enough vaccine available. As is evident from the lines of gay men all over the country, the vast majority of gay men who are sexually active want to get the vaccine.
It’s a huge failure of the public health authorities that there are so few vaccine doses available – they knew it was coming and failed to order. Playing catch up now. . At least Fauci has now announced he’s retiring, but small comfort.
The story should be about how the public health officials have failed the gay community once again and caused a great deal of disruption to people’s lives and an awful lot of pain to those who become infected. It’s shameful; there should be more systematic protest and efforts to hold those who failed on the job responsible. Talk about structural homophobia!
bachy
@Fahd: I don’t understand the problem with accessibility to vaccines. There never seems to be a shortage of drugs. Ie, you could pave the streets of NYC with Oxycontin tablets and there would still be more available for your pain. Drug companies are only too happy to flood the market with their products.
What makes vaccines so different?
Kangol2
Vaccines require precision and high quality control in the manufacturing and shipping process, etc. to be effective.
You cannot manufacture vaccines the way you do aspirin, or even oxycodone/oxycontin for that matter.
For vaccines that are proprietary (owned by a particular company) and not in the public domain, I believe only that company or companies they work with are allowed to manufacture the vaccine domestically and globally, again, according to the strict requirements AND many countries, particularly Western ones, want verification of the vaccines’ efficacy, the verified quality of the manufacturing facilities, etc. The US has formally approved only one monkeypox vaccine, manufactured in Denmark, so far. As a result, you can’t rush vaccines out, though we witnessed something along those lines, with government support, when the US companies created the ebola vaccine, the various Covid-19 vaccines, etc.
With the monkeypox vaccine(s), I think the US government has found a US company, Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing (GRAM) in Michigan, which will work with the Danish pharmaceutical company, Bavarian Nordic, that makes the vaccine to ramp up production by setting up a factory here. This will take time but the US is expediting it, and Lord knows, we need it. Also, the US had ordered millions of doses of the vaccine from Bavarian Nordic, but they will take a while to manufacture and deliver. This is why a public health strategy, alongside vaccination when that’s possible, is usually the best plan of action. We blew it with HIV/AIDS (there was no vaccine) and Covid-19 (initially no vaccine, then there was), but not with ebola, for example, a few years before.
Fahd
Where the failure of the public health authorities comes in, is that they delayed in the process of approving the Danish vaccine and did not place their order, so to speak, in a timely manner. They “forgot”. Asleep at the wheel. Fuaci is retiring, but big deal.
With Covid the vaccine had to be developed and tested. With monkeypox, the vaccine has been there and ready to go. It could have been ordered in sufficient quantities long ago*. The public health officials didn’t do it. On top of that, there are great (more than enough) stores of medication available to treat moneypox once someone gets it, but its not packaged for retail or some such BS, so it’s very difficult to get the medication.
*There were 20 million doses of monkeypox vaccine in storage, but the public health officials let those “expire” without taking steps to preserve them or reordering. Can’t be used.
Right now what’s going on is a big PR campaign to sweep the malfeasance under the rug, and make it look like the infectious disease authorities are doing their job. They’ve already blown it. It’s a huge scandal in my opinion and another example of how public health officials have failed when it comes to the gay community, and “fails” is as charitable as I’d get in that accusation.
I’m surprised there’s not more outrage, but I guess that will be coming. BTW, one can read all this in the LA Times online.
bachy
@Kangol, Fahd –
Thanks for the synopses, fellas!
Very informative.
DHT
This is strange, they are writing about “half” like it is a success story. What it should read like is that half of MSM’s still won’t reduce their sexual partners despite the risk of MPX.
Gadfeal
Monkeypox is not generally fatal, but it is temporarily disfiguring; yet, it motivates people to avoid sex.
HIV, on the other hand, used to be often fatal (pre retrovirals) but shows no physical sign initially; yet, many people continued to have sex.