Gay men refrain from sex to avoid monkeypox, study finds

“These findings suggest that men who have sex with men are already taking action to protect their sexual health and making decisions that reduce the risk to themselves and their partners.” reported Delaney’s team.

The timing of the survey, and the finding that the gay male community in America responded quickly to the monkeypox threat, coincides with a recent global decline in monkeypox cases.

The number of monkeypox cases worldwide fell 21% from the previous week, according to World Health Organization data released Thursday.

About 17,000 cases of viral illness have been reported so far, according to the CDC. report in the United States. The overwhelming majority of cases occur in gay and bisexual men.

Monkeypox is usually spread by requiring skin-to-skin or skin-to-mouth contact with an infected patient’s lesions. You can also become infected by coming into contact with the clothing or bedsheets of someone with monkeypox lesions.

monkeypox vaccine called Jinneos There is, but it is in short supply. Vaccines are being distributed and reserved for those most at risk, including gay and bisexual men with multiple sex partners, health care workers, laboratory staff, and outbreak responders.

Meanwhile, gay and bisexual men appear to modify their behavior to reduce their risk of infection and spread, new research reveals.

new Investigation Of the 824 adult men in the United States who participated, 90% reported having had sex with another man at least once in the past three months (i.e. during the monkeypox outbreak).

Over 70% of respondents were white, and about half were under the age of 45. They came from all over the country and about half lived in cities.

“Respondents reported changes in their sexual behavior since learning about the monkeypox outbreak,” the CDC team reported.

Overall, 47.8% reported having fewer sex partners, 49.8% reported having fewer one-off sexual encounters, and 49.6% reported having sex with partners they met on dating apps or at sex venues. reported a reduction,” the researchers said.

Monkeypox can be transmitted through skin-to-skin contact, and the study also found that about 42% of the men surveyed said they had reduced their attendance at “close social events.” rice field.

Of course, getting vaccinated is another way to protect yourself from monkeypox.

By 15 August, nearly 19% of the men surveyed said they had received at least the first dose of the two-dose vaccine, according to the survey.

“Vaccine coverage was highest among Hispanic men [27.1%] lowest among black men [11.5%],”The study found that just under 18% of white men had received at least one vaccination. Compared with men living in rural areas, more urban men were vaccinated and Vaccination coverage was highest in the Northeast (27.8%) and lowest in the South (13%).

Those with two or more partners were more likely to use the Jynneos shot (about 30%) than those with one or no partners (about 14%).

Yet access to vaccines remained a problem. Of the 662 people who said they had not yet been vaccinated, 28.5% said they had tried and failed, according to the study.

By 15 August, actual cases of monkeypox were rare. Of the men who responded, only 1.7% said he was infected. And overall, the gay community in America appeared to be on track with the pandemic. “82.3% reported feeling confident they could protect themselves from monkeypox,” Delaney’s group said. Stated.

In parallel with the findings, another CDC study We sought to predict the impact of changes in sexual behavior on monkeypox epidemics in the United States.

For context, the authors of the modeling study concluded that “one-off partnerships account for 3% of daily sexual partnerships. [among gay/bisexual men] And 16% of daily sexual activity accounts for about 50% of daily infections with monkeypox virus. “

Within that framework, “reducing one-off partnerships by 40% could slow the spread of monkeypox and reduce the proportion of infected people by 20% to 31%,” the researchers concluded. . They were led by Thomas Gift, also of the CDC’s monkeypox emergency response team.

Both studies were published Friday in the CDC journal’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

For more information:

find out more about monkeypox at the World Health Organization.

Source: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 26 August 2022

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