Monkeypox and sex: Sexual orientations and encounters are key factors to consider

Abstract

AbstractBackground and AimsThe monkeypox (mpox) virus was endemic to some African countries that have recently spread worldwide creating multicountry outbreaks outside of Africa. This most current mpox outbreak is caused by a variety of factors. However, there are some conflicting ideas and pejorative claims about this. Therefore, we conducted this narrative review to highlight the associations of mpox infection with sexual orientations and encounters and to break the misconception about mpox.MethodsTo find pertinent information and data, we searched Google, Google Scholar, and PubMed. The results of the study were supported by a large number of studies that demonstrated a connection between the mpox and sexual orientation. To gather information, we read the pertinent articles.ResultsAccording to the available documents, we have seen that there are normally two ways of monkeypox transmission. However, the LGBTQ and MSM communities are disproportionately affected by mpox infection. Numerous research have only focused on the sexual orientation of victims. According to a study, there were 54,709 laboratory‐confirmed cases of mpox where the majority of these cases were in men who had sex with men and reported recent sexual activity with one or more partners. According to a study from Italy, the mpoxvirus was recently discovered in a sample of human semen from cases of confirmed mpox. However, this finding has not yet been confirmed because there is a chance that the specimen was contaminated by another means.ConclusionThe present study suggests that there might have a prominent association between epidemiology of mpox infection and sexual orientations patients. Therefore, the general public should be made aware of mpox infections by healthcare authorities. They should let the people know about the facts about mpox. Only comprehensive planning and preventive measures will be able to halt this epidemic infection's pandemic progression.