The Facts On Monkey Pox
With the rising number of monkeypox cases, staying adequately informed is important for the health of yourself and those around you. Especially because of the misinformation and framing that is currently being spread by some of the media.
Discovered in 1958, monkeypox first appeared in captive monkey colonies being used for research. The first recorded human case came in 1970, appearing in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It later spread to nearby African countries. There are several strains of the virus, but the current outbreak is a West African strain that is milder than others and not typically fatal.*
According to the CDC, although the virus is not easily transmittable, contracting it is still possible. The easiest way someone may become infected is through contact with an infected animal, person, or material. Transmission typically occurs through direct contact with infectious sores and bodily fluids. This means that intimate contact (i.e., kissing or sex) can spread monkeypox. However, the virus can also be airborne.
Monkeypox does have an incubation period running from 7 to 14 days before presenting itself through headaches, fever, chills, and swollen lymph nodes. A few days after these symptoms appear, individuals develop rashes that spread across the body. These lesions fill pus and eventually scab over and fall off. Monkeypox usually lasts 2 to 4 weeks in the body.
At the time of this article's writing, the CDC’s site on monkeypox reports that the United Kingdom has the most confirmed cases at 574, followed by Spain with 497, and Germany with 338. The United States ranks seventh on this list, with only 113 confirmed cases.** As CDC scientist Agam Rao puts it, “Only a small subset of the population are currently affected, and while I would not be surprised if there are more cases, we don’t expect it to be taking off the way COVID-19, for example, took off.”*
If you or someone you know has contracted the virus, the best thing to do is seek professional medical assistance. Monkeypox can be treated with antiviral medication, and several other medications and vaccines used for smallpox have proven beneficial.**
The facts regarding the monkeypox outbreak are fairly straightforward, but the media has presented the issue in a way that is leading the public to believe that the virus only affects men who have sex with men (MSM) and that the black community is to blame. These already marginalized communities are facing further stigmatization as a result of this framing.
It is true that a disproportionate amount of MSM have contracted the virus after attending pride festivals in the Canary Islands, Belgium, and other places around Europe. However, it is irresponsible for media outlets to use this information as a way of claiming that the virus only affects MSM. Such rhetoric causes people to dismiss the virus altogether and refuse to not take precautionary measures that could help them avoid contracting the virus. Rather than stigmatizing the disease, the focal point should be prioritizing the accessibility of healthcare and assistance to MSM to ensure that the virus does not continue spreading.***
The media has also defaulted to only sharing images of monkeypox on black skin despite outbreaks occurring all across North America and Europe. To truly explain this absurdity, Ifeanyi Nsofor, a health strategy consultant gives this example: “It would be as if Nigeria, which has seen 247 cases since 2017 and 66 so far this year, would use photos exclusively of white people with monkeypox in covering its national epidemic.” However, media internationally has done just that and, in the process, perpetuated the idea that not only is Africa to blame for this outbreak, but black people are most easily affected. Neither of these suppositions could be farther from the truth. Instead, the media should illustrate the great lengths countries like Nigeria have taken to stop the spread of the virus. Nigeria’s first case appeared in 1971, and the country did not have any more outbreaks until 2017.†
The media has done the public a great disservice by responding in this way. It is reminiscent of previous responses to viral outbreaks like HIV and COVID-19. It is in crucial moments like these that we must break the cycle of misinformation. Otherwise, we are doing ourselves greater harm.
REFERENCES
* Cohen, Jon. “Monkeypox outbreak questions intensify as cases soar,” Science, 20 May 2022, https://www.science.org/content/article/monkeypox-outbreak-questions-intensify-cases-soar.
** Center for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/index.html.
*** Downs, Jim. “Gay Me Need a Specific Warning About Monkeypox,” The Atlantic, 28 May 2022, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/05/monkeypox-outbreak-spread-gay-bisexual-men/643122/.
† Nsofor, Ifeanyi. “OPINION: Media coverage of monkeypox paints it as an African Virus. That makes me mad,” npr, 2 June 2022, https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/06/02/1102199023/opinion-media-coverage-of-monkeypox-paints-it-as-an-african-virus-that-makes-me-.