The zoonotic disease is typically found in areas close to tropical rainforests where the virus-carrying animals live.

Social media is abuzz with misleading claims about mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) and sexuality. Posts about how “nearly all cases are gay men and bisexuals” and “they should change their behaviour and get vaccinated” have no scientific backing. 

Close on the heels of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring the rise in mpox cases as a public health emergency of international concern, these unscientific claims on social media are causing additional panic and baseless stigma. 

WHO has clarified that mpox is a zoonotic disease –transmitted from animals to humans – and is caused by the monkeypox virus. It is a viral infection which can spread between people, mainly through close contact, and occasionally from the environment to people via things and surfaces that have been touched by a person with mpox. 

The disease is typically found in areas close to tropical rainforests where the virus-carrying animals live. The infection has been detected in various animals, including squirrels, Gambian pouched rats, dormice, and different species of monkeys, informs the WHO. 

The spread of mpox is linked to these animal reservoirs rather than specific human behaviours as wrongly claimed by certain social media users. “The risk of mpox is not limited to people who are sexually active or gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. Anyone who has close contact with someone who has symptoms is at risk and any person with multiple sex partners is also at risk,” maintains the WHO.

The common symptom of mpox is a rash that may last for 2-4 weeks. This may start with, or be followed by, fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen glands (lymph nodes). The rash looks like blisters or sores, and can affect the face, palms of the hands, soles of the feet, groin, genital and/or anal regions. These lesions may also be found in the mouth, throat, anus, rectum or vagina, or on the eyes. The number of sores can range from one to several thousand. 

In most cases, the symptoms of mpox subside within a few weeks with supportive care, such as medication for pain or fever. However, in some people, the illness can be severe or lead to complications and even death. Newborn babies, children, pregnant women and people with underlying immune deficiencies may be at higher risk of severe disease due to mpox.

Read More : WHO declares health emergency as Mpox surges in Africa