Fact check: Is monkeypox more contagious than COVID-19? Here’s what an expert says

Evan Moore
·3 min read
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As the number of monkeypox cases grows around the world, health officials are working to dispel myths about the virus.

There have been 92 laboratory-confirmed cases and 28 suspected cases of monkeypox reported since May 13, according to the World Health Organization. No deaths associated with the virus have been reported.

At least three cases of monkeypox have been identified in the United States, with the most recent presumptive positive case found in Florida, ABC News reported.

During the outbreak, there have been multiple reports suggestingthat the virus could be transmitted through sexual activity and that the CDC indicated that members of the LGBTQ community could face increased exposure– something that health experts say can lead to unnecessary stigma.

Some have also hinted that the outbreak could rise to the level of a pandemic, similar to COVID-19.

Here’s where monkeypox originated, how it spreads and common myths about the virus that have been debunked by health experts.

Where did monkeypox originate?

Monkeypox was first discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in a group of monkeys kept for research, according to the CDC. The first case of monkeypox in a human was documented in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the CDC. The virus has recently resurfaced in areas that don’t typically see the disease, including in Canada, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

How does monkeypox spread?

Transmission of monkeypox virus happens when a person comes into contact with the virus from an animal, human or materials contaminated with the virus, the CDC says.

According to the CDC, the virus can enter the body through:

  • Broken skin

  • Respiratory droplets

  • Mucous membranes, like the eyes, nose and mouth

  • A bite or scratch from an infected animal

  • Contact with bodily fluids

  • Contaminated clothing or linens

Symptoms of monkeypox include unexplained rashes, headache, fever, muscle and body aches and swollen lymph nodes, according to the WHO.

Is monkeypox as contagious as COVID-19?

Unlike COVID-19, monkeypox isn’t considered contagious before people develop symptoms, according to Dr. Anne Rimoin, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of California Los Angeles.

“It’s not as highly transmissible as something like smallpox, or measles, or certainly not Covid,” Rimoin told Vox.

President Joe Biden also said he doesn’t think the monkeypox outbreak is as dangerous as the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have had this monkeypox in large numbers in the past,” Biden said. “We have vaccines to take care of it. I just don’t think it rises to the level of concern that existed with COVID-19.”

Are members of the LGBTQ community more likely to contract monkeypox?

Though some recent monkeypox cases have been identified in homosexual and bisexual men, public health experts are concerned about discriminatory languagethat falsely associates those within the LGTBQ community with the virus.

While the cause of the outbreak has yet to be determined, United Nations health officials expressed concern over the homophobic and racist stereotypes being promoted by media outlets reporting on the virus and reiterated that anyone can become infected.

Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease, but it can spread through intimate contact during sex when someone has an active rash, the CDC explained.

“Stigma and blame undermine trust and capacity to respond effectively during outbreaks like this one,” UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Matthew Kavanagh said in a press release. “Experience shows that stigmatizing rhetoric can quickly disable evidence-based response by stoking cycles of fear, driving people away from health services, impeding efforts to identify cases, and encouraging ineffective, punitive measures.”