Why is monkeypox only affecting gay men

Doctors and public-health experts have spoken to the BBC about the "delicate balance" of keeping those. CDC adapted models of mpox transmission to estimate the risk for and size of potential mpox recurrences at varying levels of population-level mpox immunity 45.

Monkeypox may have mutated in ways that allow it to transmit more easily, and the share of the population who have had the smallpox vaccine—which also offers some protection against monkeypox—is declining because smallpox vaccination was abandoned worldwide starting in the s.

The virus is a pox virus that was first discovered in monkeys inhence the name. Mathematical modeling suggests that the risk for future outbreaks depends linearly on the level of immunity in the population at risk; cumulative incidence, on the other hand, has multiple thresholds.

Monkeypox mpox has disproportionately affected gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men MSM ; the percentage of MSM with immunity due to vaccination or infection varies among jurisdictions. More thanMSM live in jurisdictions with risk for mpox recurrences capable of sustained transmission if a cluster of infectious cases were reintroduced.

Monkeypox and gay and bisexual men: Fact sheet What is monkeypox? Increasing vaccination coverage among MSM at risk and in jurisdictions with low immunity has the potential to reduce the risk for and potential size of future mpox outbreaks.

Among the 50 jurisdictions examined, 15 are predicted to be at minimal risk for recurrence because of their high levels of population immunity. Depending on the level of immunity and chance, introduced cases either initiated an outbreak of variable size or failed to sustain transmission.

Monkeypox is a rare disease that is caused by infection with monkeypox virus. While anyone can get monkeypox, the current outbreak is overwhelmingly affecting sexually active gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.

Monkeypox and gay and

More than 30, monkeypox mpox cases have been diagnosed in the United States since Mayprimarily among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men MSM 12. A large proportion of monkeypox cases diagnosed in the UK are among gay and bisexual men.

The vaccine, which is 85% effective, represents the only way to prevent monkeypox at this time. However, mpox vaccination coverage varies regionally, suggesting variable potential risk for mpox outbreak recurrence 3.

This analysis underscores the ongoing need for accessible and sustained mpox vaccination to decrease the risk for and potential size of future mpox recurrences. An outbreak was defined as a simulation with sustained mpox incidence 3 months after reintroduction.

To model mpox reintroduction, five MSM with infectious mpox and high levels of sexual activity were introduced to the sexual network. The risk for outbreak recurrence after mpox reintroduction is linearly inversely related to the proportion of MSM who have some form of protective immunity: the higher the population prevalence of immunity from vaccination or natural infectionthe lower the likelihood of recurrence in that jurisdiction across all immunity levels modeled.

In recent months, diagnoses have declined to one case per day on average. It is believed that the virus naturally lives and reproduces in rodents in central and western Africa. And other factors may have made the outbreak worse.

For each immunity level, model simulations were conducted until 50 simulated recurrent outbreaks occurred.

Monkeypox isn’t like HIV

Condom use alone is not enough, which is one of the ways monkeypox is different from STIs. CDC simulated dynamic network models representing sexual behavior among MSM to estimate the risk for and potential size of recurrent mpox outbreaks at the jurisdiction level for and to evaluate the benefits of vaccination for preparedness against mpox reintroduction.

Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Emily D. Pollock 1 ; Patrick A. Clay 1 ; Adrienne Keen 2 ; Dustin W. Currie 3 ; Rosalind J. Carter 4 ; Laura A. Quilter 1 ; Adi V. Gundlapalli 5 ; Jonathan Mermin 1 ; Ian H. Spicknall 1 View author affiliations.