In article <svj5n7$1ue4e$83@news.freedyn.de>
<governor.swill@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> ...I spent all night sucking cocks.

For most of the six decades that monkeypox has been known to
affect people, it was not known as a disease that spreads
through sex. Now that has changed.

The current outbreak is by far the biggest involving the virus,
and it�s been designated a global emergency. So far, officials
say, all evidence indicates that the disease has spread mainly
through networks of men who have sex with men.

�It clearly is spreading as an STI (sexually transmitted
infection) at this point,� said Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of
the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

To protect the people at highest risk while trying to contain
the spread, public health agencies are focusing their attention
on those men � and attacking the virus based on how it�s
behaving now.

On Wednesday, the head of the World Health Organization advised
men at risk for monkeypox to consider reducing their sexual
partners �for the moment.�

But this is a complicated outbreak that may shift in how it
spreads and which population groups are most affected. There is
also debate about whether monkeypox should be called a sexually
transmitted disease, with some critics complaining that the term
creates a stigma and could be used to vilify gay and bisexual
men.

Monkeypox can spread in nonsexual ways too, and it�s not enough
to use condoms or other typical measures for stopping STDs,
Inglesby and other experts say.

Here�s what we know.

What makes something an STD?
A sexually transmitted disease is commonly defined as one that
mainly spreads through sexual contact. But some STDs can be
spread in other ways, too. HIV can spread through shared
needles. Syphilis can spread through kissing. A common, parasite-
caused sexual infection called trichomoniasis has been found to
spread through the sharing of damp, moist objects like sponges
or towels.

Monkeypox has not usually spread easily among people, and
experts are still trying to understand exactly how it moves from
person to person. In Africa, where small outbreaks have been
common for years, people have been infected through bites from
rodents or small animals.

But in May, cases began emerging in Europe, the United States
and elsewhere that showed a clear pattern of infection through
intimate contact with an infected person, like many other
sexually transmitted diseases.

The public health workers who respond to outbreaks play a large
role how they are framed. Much of the work on monkeypox has been
done by professionals who operate sexual health clinics or
specialize in STDs.

Indeed, the U.S. government�s response needs to be led by people
with that expertise, said David C. Harvey, executive director of
the National Coalition of STD Directors.

�The STD field has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in these
areas developed over decades fighting various outbreaks and
diseases affecting the very communities ... we�re seeing
monkeypox taking a toll on today,� Harvey said in a statement.

Who is getting monkeypox?
WHO officials said last week that 99% of all the monkeypox cases
beyond Africa were in men and that of those, 98% involved men
who have sex with men. Experts suspect that monkeypox outbreaks
in Europe and North America were ignited by sex at two raves in
Belgium and Spain.

The statistics are the same for cases reported in the United
States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. As in Europe, cases have emerged in other groups
too, including at least 13 people who were female at birth and
at least two children.

Last week, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study
of hundreds of monkeypox infections in 16 countries. It found
that the suspected means of transmission in 95% of the cases was
sexual close contact, as reported by doctors. The researchers
noted that it was impossible to confirm sexual transmission.

That idea seemed to be further supported by the finding that
most of the men had lesions in the genital or anal areas or in
the mouth � areas of sexual contact, the researchers said.

Why is there a debate about calling it an STD?
While there is broad agreement among health officials that
monkeypox is being transmitted during sexual encounters, some
experts debate whether it should be called an STD. They worry
that the term unfairly stigmatizes and that it could undermine
efforts to identify infections and tame the outbreak.

When a disease is defined as a sexually transmitted infection
that mainly affects men who have sex with men, many people may
begin to think of it as �a gay disease� that poses no risk to
them, said Jason Farley, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins
School of Nursing.

That�s what happened in the early days of the AIDS epidemic in
the 1980s, which contributed to the spread of HIV to other
groups. Farley said.

�We learn nothing from our history,� said Farley, who is gay.

The WHO recommendation that at-risk men limit their sexual
partners is sensible public health advice, he said. But it also
amplifies �the message that this is a gay disease,� he said.

�This is the fine line between having a public health approach
that focuses on the epidemiology of now, compared to the
likelihood of the continued emergence of new cases in� the
general community, he said.

�Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted infection,� he said.
�It is an infection that can be transmitted with sexual contact.�

What is known about transmission?
Some researchers have found evidence of the monkeypox virus in
semen. A study in Spain found monkeypox virus DNA in the semen
of some infected men, as well as in saliva and other body
fluids. But the study didn�t answer whether the virus actually
has spread through semen.

Sorting that out could affect the understanding of not only how
men spread the infection, but also how long they might be
contagious. Evidence of some other viruses � like Ebola and Zika
� has been found in the semen of some men months after they were
thought to be fully recovered.

Meanwhile, scientists believe the primary route of transmission
during the current outbreak has been skin-to-skin contact during
sexual encounters with someone who has symptoms. In that
respect, it�s similar to herpes, some experts noted.

The virus also may spread through saliva and respiratory
droplets during prolonged, face-to-face contact, such as during
kissing and cuddling � a kind of spread that can occur outside
of sex.

Researchers are exploring how often, and in what situations,
that kind of spread might happen, said Christopher Mores, a
professor of global health at George Washington University.

�We would do ourselves a disservice to try and exclude anything
from the realm of possibility at this point,� he said.

Officials also say people can catch monkeypox from touching
items that previously touched an infected person�s rash or body
fluids, such as towels or bedsheets. That is thought to explain
the infections of the U.S. children.

Why are these details important?
It�s important to understand exactly how monkeypox spreads in
order to give people the information they need to protect
themselves, health officials say.

That said, health officials believe those who are currently at
the highest risk are gay or bisexual men who have sex with
multiple partners. That understanding has shaped much of the
work to contain the outbreak, including prioritization of the
supply of vaccines and treatments.

The government has been shipping a monkeypox vaccine, but the
supply is limited. So far it�s only been recommended as a post-
exposure treatment or for people who have had multiple sex
partners in the past two weeks in a place where monkeypox cases
have been reported.

The vaccine is new, and officials are trying to gather data on
exactly how well it works.

It's a fucking queer STD. Stop fucking around and start telling
the truth about something for once. Lying only makes it worse
and that is what is happening.

Point out that is is a QUEER STD and any CHILD who gets it has
BEEN MOLESTED by an INFECTED QUEER.

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-health-and-
wellness/monkeypox-spreads-sexual-contact-std-rcna40610