cases monkeypox discovered in United Kingdom and PortugalI, as well as the suspects under investigation in Spain, caused quite a stir. It’s no less, because we come from more than two years pandemic and even the most innocent flash squeezes our hearts. But, as usual in such cases, this fuss generates a lot of misinformation. For example, it is incorrectly commented that monkeypox sexually transmitted disease (STD).
This idea comes from the fact that, apparently, a significant part of the identified cases gay or bisexual. In short, men who admit they have recently had sexual relations with other men. This suggests that monkeypox is an STD and that it also only affects men, but both of these assumptions are incorrect.
On the other hand, the Minister of Health of the Spanish government, Carolina Darias, wanted to correct this mistake in an interview with La Sexta, arguing that it was not an STD, but a virus. But this is not the best argument to deny that it is sexually transmitted, mainly because the vast majority of diseases of this type virus-borne. A good example of this are HIV or human papillomavirus. But then what is the correct explanation? Why can we guarantee that monkeypox is not an STD? To find out, it’s best to start from the beginning.
What is an STD?
In fact, and despite the fact that it is still used by many people, the term “sexually transmitted disease (STD)” is an obsolete qualification. Today it is more correct to call them sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This is because a person can be infected but not get sick. This happens very often with the human papillomavirus (HPV).
It is more correct to use the term “sexually transmitted infection”.
As for its definition, as its name implies, these are those infections that are transmitted mainly due to the contact of mucous membranes and fluids during intercourse. It is important to focus on this “mainly” as there may be other routes of infection. For example, when exchanging syringes contaminated with blood, or from mothers to children during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding. But this is not the main route of transmission.
They are not transmitted through respiratory secretions or other fluids such as saliva, so other routes of infection excluded. This is why monkeypox cannot be considered an STD.
The bias of this monkeypox outbreak
Monkeypox is much more common in Africa, especially in Democratic Republic of the Congo and some countries in the western part of the continent. However, very limited outbreaks have occurred from time to time in other parts of the world.
It is known as monkeypox because it was first described in 1958. laboratory monkeys. It can also be found in monkeys in the wild. However, their main animal reservoir is usually rodents
The virus can also be transmitted through the respiratory tract, which is not the case with sexually transmitted infections.
With regard to infection between people, it is mainly associated with contact with patient fluids, as well as with secretions from their skin lesions. These fluids also include respiratory secretionsalthough very close and prolonged direct contact is necessary for this type of infection to occur.
In short, there are many routes of infection, so sexy just another. However, if we look at this outbreak, coincidentally, the vast majority of infections occurred among men who had sex with other men. This creates a prejudice that may lead us to believe that it is an STD. If we look only at that, and not at the thousands of infections that occur every year on the African continent, we might think that transmission is sexual.
But if we look at COVID-19 outbreaks that took place in nursing homes at the beginning of the pandemic, you might think that this is a disease that affects only the elderly. Or, if we focus on outbreaks that have occurred in prisons, we might think that this is a virus that can only infect prisoners. The coronavirus itself can be transmitted during sexual intercourse, in which people breathe heavily, close to each other and usually in enclosed spaces. But it’s not an STD.
So no, monkeypox is not sexually transmitted. This is not only a disease of men and, especially, homosexuals. The trees prevent us from seeing the forest. The possibilities are much wider, and the responsibility for this lies with the relevant health authorities. keep track of what’s going on. The good news is that it is not as contagious as COVID-19, so there is hope to stop it. But no, no matter how many memes are made on the internet about the luck of Twitter users as it is a sexually transmitted disease, even they will not be safe if it spreads.
Source: Hiper Textual
