Monkeypox has spread to more than 9200 cases worldwide, with two now found in New Zealand.
Infectious disease expert and Associate Professor Mark Thomas of Auckland University says most of the cases in the current outbreak have been transmitted through men having sexual contact with other men.
“It’s thought that the disease is mostly spread by skin to skin contact but it may also be spread through sexual intercourse.”
Though he doesn’t think it will kill many people, Thomas says it will cause “considerable inconvenience”.
“Unfortunately, despite what people expected when the outbreak began that it will all be over in a matter of weeks, it’s persistent and gotten larger,” Thomas says.
Canada, the United States, Europe, and the UK are where most of the cases are.
'Spreading widely in the LGBTQ community'
“No country so far seems to have clearly brought it under control. I do think that we have reason to be concerned.”
Two Monkeypox cases, not linked to each other and found in people who had recently returned from overseas, are isolating in the northern region of the country.
The first symptoms of monkeypox include one or more of the following: headache, acute onset of fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, muscle and body aches, backache and tiredness. The characteristic rash, which typically looks similar to chicken pox, appears after a few days.
Thomas thinks that despite how the disease has spread through men-to-men sexual contact in the majority of cases, people should be concerned about health issues of any community.
“I think it’s wise to recognise what’s happening overseas and to alert people in New Zealand who might have sex with men that this is a disease that seems to be spreading rather widely in the LGBTQ community.
“I’m not trying to point that out as a criticism of any community. We’ve seen stigmatisation of all sorts of diseases that are associated with sexual transmission. It’s a problem that goes on forever.”
