Scientists explain why the virus affects men more

a The large number of monkeypox infections remains a mystery to both the general public and scientists. Men, bisexual and homosexual, are the most affected population group and now a team of experts has confirmed why. The data is based on the UK population.

researchers London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Explain that ‘men who have sex with men’ (the literal translation of the acronym used officially – MSM) who have a large number of different sexual partners, are more likely to contract monkeypox, due to the fact that they are a limited network of people. This fact makes the virus able to spread faster.

Currently, the risk to the general population is low, the study authors emphasized.

The investigation also shows that the current outbreak of the virus has very different and very different epidemiological characteristics from situations that occurred in the past. It also highlights the rapid spread of “men who have sex with men”.

The team studied data on sexual partnership patterns to model the prevalence of monkeypox, not only among men, but also outside that group. Since the contagiousness of the virus has not been confirmed, they also created models based on different scenarios, with different levels of risk.

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Some researchers, such as Dimitri Daskalakis, director of the American Center for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control, believe that it is possible for the virus to eventually find other types of vulnerable groups. Speaking to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the specialist mentioned that a virus similar to monkeypox, ‘Staphylococcus aureus’, began infecting gay and bisexual men in the early 2000s, and ended up spreading among athletes and even prisoners. By saying it’s also possible that Monkeypox could start infecting sex workers and their clients.

The study has not yet been peer-reviewed and therefore cannot be considered as a guide for medical practice. It is possible that these results will not apply to the global population, as the sample is limited to the United Kingdom.

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The monkeypox virus, of the family of virus that causes smallpox, is transmitted from person to person through close contact with infections, body fluids, respiratory droplets, and contaminated materials.

The incubation period is usually seven to 14 days, and the disease, known as monkeypox, lasts an average of two to four weeks.

The disease is endemic in West and Central Africa and is less severe than smallpox.

The Directorate General of Health recommends that people with ulcerative lesions, rashes and pronounced lymph nodes, which may be accompanied by fever, chills, headache, muscle aches and fatigue, seek medical advice.

Read also: The World Health Organization says there are already more than 3,200 cases of smallpox in the world