Fact check: Is monkeypox really an STD? What the CDC says about the virus

The debate on whether or not monkeypox is a sexually transmitted disease has picked up following the World Health Organization’s declaration that the disease is now a global health emergency.

However, Dr. Robert Murphy, an infectious disease expert at Northwestern Medicine said that the disease does not exclusively spread as a result of sexual activity, like other STDs do.

“Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease in the classic sense (by which it’s spread in the semen or vaginal fluids), but it is spread by close physical contact with lesions,” Murphy stated in a news release.

The claims that monkeypox is a sexually transmitted disease are based on the fact that the outbreak has disproportionately affected members of the LGBTQIA+ community, more specifically – men who have had sex with other men.

However, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the CDC’s Division of HIV Prevention, said last month that people who were being treated for monkeypox infection have come in “close contact” with lesions through touch, bodily fluids, clothes, and even shared linens.

Though the monkeypox outbreak is spreading primarily through close contact with infected individuals and materials, the spread is not exclusive to sexual activity.

The CDC, Daskalakis said, is urging the public to approach the outbreak without stigmatization.

“Anyone, regardless of gender or sexual orientation can develop and spread monkeypox. Many of those affected by the current global outbreaks identify as gay or bisexual men. However, the current risk of exposure to monkeypox is not exclusive to gay or bisexual men in the United States,” Daskalakis said.

According to Murphy, the disease likely found its bearings within the LGBTQ community last month during Pride events where large gatherings were held.

Despite the fact that the disease is not only contracted by men who have had sexual intercourse with other men, Murphy stated that is likely where health officials will begin containment efforts.

“It’s not a gay disease — there have been outbreaks on many college campuses. But when you think about vaccinating, you want to look at high-risk populations first,” Murphy said. “So the CDC and local health departments will want to prevent and treat monkeypox in locations that are already experiencing or are predicted to experience an outbreak.”

In the past two months, there have been more than 2,800 cases of monkeypox in the United States and 12 of them in Mecklenburg County.

As of last week, those Mecklenburg County cases account for more than half of the cases in all of North Carolina, The Charlotte Observer reported.

According to the CDC, patients who have tested positive for monkeypox experience flu-like symptoms such as fever, aches, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes. Additionally, the tell-tale sign for a monkeypox infection, a rash with bumps that sometimes turn into lesions, is usually visible on the outer layer of the skin.

Contrary to COVID-19, monkeypox is a DNA virus. Thus, Murphy predicts that the outbreak is unlikely to reach epidemic or pandemic status.

“...Infectious disease people like myself are calling it an outbreak; it’s not an epidemic, and it’s very unlikely to become one,” Murphy stated. “It’s a DNA virus, they don’t mutate like these RNA viruses, so you’re not expecting this to turn into something like HIV or COVID-19.”

During a recent press conference on the matter, Walensky explained that the United States government has already distributed 191,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine since the outbreak began.

There are 160,000 doses ready to be sent out with as many as 780,000 additional doses estimated to become available sometime this week.