Sydney Harper
Opinion Editor
sharper16@murraystate.edu
For the past two years, COVID-19 has spread through our world, killing over 6 million people. Although many people believe the spread of the virus is slowing down, another virus emerged earlier this summer: monkeypox. The virus began its 2022 outbreak in the U.S. after a traveler returned from Canada to the U.S.
Although this was the first outbreak of 2022 in the U.S., monkeypox is not a new virus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the first human infection with monkeypox was discovered in 1970. Despite the virus being discovered over 50 years ago, many people have begun to spread rumors and misinformation.
Similar to the COVID-19 outbreak, panic spread rapidly, leading people to share and believe hearsay rather than verified information about the virus.
Despite the virus having the ability to spread to anyone, one common misconception is that it is a sexually transmitted disease. Mainly, the disease is spread through skin-to-skin contact with lesions or mouth-to-mouth contact through respiratory droplets. Additionally, touching objects or surfaces contaminated with the monkeypox virus can infect someone.
One misconception that goes hand in hand with the idea of monkeypox being an STD is it is a disease only gay men can get. Although literally touching a surface carrying the virus is a way to contract it, monkeypox has been stigmatized as a disease impacting only men who have sexual relations with men.
Luckily, the Calloway County Health Department also discussed monkeypox at a town hall on Tuesday in order to combat some of the misinformation being spread across campus. The main focus of this meeting was to share necessary information about keeping our community safe and making sure we understand the precautions.
Another important factor was making sure everyone understood the idea of promoting a safe environment by preventing the spread of disease. As of this time, there are only 34 cases of monkeypox in Kentucky and zero in Calloway County, so it seems as though we are in a good place.
Overall, the town hall was very effective in making sure everyone understood the exact risks and precautions. It also helped ensure everyone could be on the same page when it comes to the virus. Since the virus is so new to us, the town hall helped explain what the virus was and helped put people at ease.
One main issue with monkeypox is the amount of misinformation spreading as a result of panic. Much like with COVID-19, people fail to realize the monkeypox virus is related to the virus that causes smallpox. Because of the existence of smallpox, we have established medical officials with extensive research on how to treat poxviruses, as well as the development of a vaccine.
The biggest way to reduce the spread of these misconceptions is to find reputable sources and ensure people are not spreading false information. Pushing the narrative of monkeypox being an STD that only men can get generates a negative stigma similar to the HIV outbreak.
Stigmas like these can lead to avoidable death and illnesses if we were to see past the disease only impacting certain demographics of people. While data collected by the CDC does point to some demographics of people having seemingly higher infection rates, no one is truly removed from the situation.
A big detail to remember is most data about the 2022 monkeypox outbreak has been conducted within the span of a few months. While it is important to remember to be safe, we also should attempt to reduce panic among our peers. We have extensive knowledge about poxviruses, so we are not stuck with just the data obtained this year.
Overall, we can’t reduce the virus to something only certain people can get. Not only does this negatively affect the groups surrounding it, the stigma plays an important role in the overall spread of monkeypox. If we convince ourselves we are immune to it, we will be more likely to get and spread the virus.
Although we can’t control how the public thinks about monkeypox, we can all do our best to reduce the spread of negative information towards the most vulnerable groups. Ostracizing gay men, who already have such a negative stigma when it comes to STDs, will do nothing but cause negativity and hate towards them.
The most important thing we can do is educate ourselves. The CDC has provided information in regards to the spread of monkeypox, and the Town Hall this week allowed more insight into our local resources and numbers. Educating ourselves on these topics are the best way to reduce an outbreak.