Why is monkeypox spread by gay men

Why is monkeypox suddenly in the news? The short answer is no. This analysis assumed no additional vaccination after April 28,no behavioral adaptation such as decreasing partner acquisition rates among MSM in response to new mpox cases, and no loss of immunity due to demographic turnover during the 2-year period modeled.

Increasing vaccination coverage among MSM at risk and in jurisdictions with low immunity has the potential to reduce the risk for and potential size of future mpox outbreaks. All but one case occurred among men, and many were among gay and bisexual men.

For each immunity level, model simulations were conducted until 50 simulated recurrent outbreaks occurred. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. CDC simulated dynamic network models representing sexual behavior among MSM to estimate the risk for and potential size of recurrent mpox outbreaks at the jurisdiction level for and to evaluate the benefits of vaccination for preparedness against mpox reintroduction.

In May about verified and suspected cases of monkeypox were reported in Europe, North America, Israel, and Australia. While anyone can get monkeypox, the current outbreak is overwhelmingly affecting sexually active gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.

Depending on the level of immunity and chance, introduced cases either initiated an outbreak of variable size or failed to sustain transmission. Does monkeypox spread faster among gay and bisexual men? Emily D. Pollock 1 ; Patrick A.

Clay 1 ; Adrienne Keen 2 ; Dustin W. Currie 3 ; Rosalind J. Carter 4 ; Laura A. Quilter 1 ; Adi V. Gundlapalli 5 ; Jonathan Mermin 1 ; Ian H. Spicknall 1 View author affiliations. More thanMSM live in jurisdictions with risk for mpox recurrences capable of sustained transmission if a cluster of infectious cases were reintroduced.

The global monkeypox outbreak is primarily being driven by sex between men, according to the first major peer-reviewed paper to analyze a large set of cases of the virus. And why are the overwhelming majority of those affected men who have sex with men (MSM)?.

Anyone can be infected by monkeypox. No one is known to have died in the current outbreak. The risk for outbreak recurrence after mpox reintroduction is linearly inversely related to the proportion of MSM who have some form of protective immunity: the higher the population prevalence of immunity from vaccination or natural infectionthe lower the likelihood of recurrence in that jurisdiction across all immunity levels modeled.

CDC adapted models of mpox transmission to estimate the risk for and size of potential mpox recurrences at varying levels of population-level mpox immunity 45. However, mpox vaccination coverage varies regionally, suggesting variable potential risk for mpox outbreak recurrence 3.

Mathematical modeling suggests that the risk for future outbreaks depends linearly on the level of immunity in the population at risk; cumulative incidence, on the other hand, has multiple thresholds.

Monkeypox and gay men

In recent months, diagnoses have declined to one case per day on average. More than 30, monkeypox mpox cases have been diagnosed in the United States since Mayprimarily among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men MSM 12. This analysis underscores the ongoing need for accessible and sustained mpox vaccination to decrease the risk for and potential size of future mpox recurrences.

To model mpox reintroduction, five MSM with infectious mpox and high levels of sexual activity were introduced to the sexual network. The virus is not a sexually transmitted infection. How is monkeypox spread?. Ever since monkeypox started to sicken thousands of people worldwide this spring, two big questions have loomed: Why is a virus that has never managed to spread beyond a few cases outside Africa suddenly causing such a big, global outbreak?

An outbreak was defined as a simulation with sustained mpox incidence 3 months after reintroduction. Monkeypox mpox has disproportionately affected gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men MSM ; the percentage of MSM with immunity due to vaccination or infection varies among jurisdictions.

Among the 50 jurisdictions examined, 15 are predicted to be at minimal risk for recurrence because of their high levels of population immunity.