Mpox can affect anyone, not just gay men

^{By Eiddwen Jeffery}

False claims about the infectious disease mpox are once again spreading on social media platforms as Australia experiences a re-emergence of the disease.  

Anti-vaxers are posting messages wrongly claiming that the disease, formerly known as monkeypox, only affects gay men.

The messages, which appeared on Telegram in August and were then published to Facebook and X, advise people not to be vaccinated against mpox as well as bird flu because the “diseases are in the shots.”

The messages also claim: “MPOX ONLY AFFECTS GAY MEN, AND THE DISEASE DOESNT SPREAD THROUGH AIR OR SALIVA.”  

But this information is inaccurate. According to infectious disease experts, mpox spreads primarily through close contact with an infected person or bodily fluids.  

They say a variety of mpox, known as clade IIb, is behind the current cases in Australia, and sexual transmission accounts for most of spread of this variety especially among high-risk groups like gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men.

Australian Government guidelines recommend vaccination in these communities.

Vaccination is the primary strategy for preventing further outbreaks of mpox in Australia, according to infectious disease experts Professor Raina MacIntyre, Professor Andrew Grulich and Dr Mo Hammoud, all from the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales. They co-authored an article on the research-based website, The Conversation, earlier this year.

Dr Mo Hammoud told RMIT Lookout, "mpox is a viral disease capable of infecting anyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or age”. 

“There is no evidence to suggest that mpox only affects gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men” said Dr Hammoud, an expert in LGBTQ+ population health.

“It's important to note that there is no scientific evidence suggesting [men who have sex with men] are biologically more susceptible to mpox. The higher prevalence is due to social and network factors, not inherent susceptibility,” he said.

What else you need to know about mpox

Mpox is caused by infection with the monkeypox virus and belongs to the same viral family as smallpox, according to the federal Australian Department of Health and Aged Care website.

There has been a global increase in mpox cases since 2022, when the World Health Organization (WHO) first declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. It issued this declaration again in August this year.

In 2022, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the outbreak was primarily affecting men who have sex with men, but it could spread to anyone exposed to the virus.

The Victorian Department of Health website warns, “Mpox can be spread from person-to-person through skin-to-skin contact, contaminated surfaces, and respiratory droplets.”  

Symptoms for the disease include a painful rash, appearing as small sores and blisters on the skin, as well as fever, head and muscle aches and tiredness, according to the state health website.  

The disease is usually mild and people typically recover in a few weeks.

Not the first time misinformation has accompanied an outbreak

Mpox first occurred in Australia in 2022 and re-emerged this year. According to federal health data there were 144 cases in 2022 and 814 cases recorded so far this year.

When the disease first broke out in Australia, false information spread online linking COVID-19 vaccinations to the mpox outbreak. Social media users wrongly claimed that mpox was a form of shingles induced by COVID-19 vaccines in people with HIV.

Information on mpox is available on the Australian Centre for Disease Control website or via state government health websites. Recorded case data for Australia is publicly available on the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System.