Monkeypox — the virus that causes a fever and body aches, often accompanied by painful blisters or sores — is officially a public health emergency in the US.
Unlike Covid-19, monkeypox isn’t a mysterious new illness. While it’s been known for thousands of years in other mammals, such as rodents and simians, the first identified modern human case appeared in a baby in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970. The earliest samples of the virus were collected in Denmark from a colony of macaques imported from Singapore in 1958.
While it’s part of the same family of viruses that causes smallpox, it’s not nearly as deadly. Until this outbreak, monkeypox was largely confined to West and Central Africa, due to unequal access to vaccines and treatment.
Researchers believe the virus has drastically improved its adaptations for human-to-human transmission, causing it to spread more rapidly than in the past. Presently, the US has just over 7,400 confirmed cases.
Misinformation has traveled with monkeypox; we’ve all been flooded with confusing messages about who’s at risk, the nature of the virus and how to stay safe. Below, we clear up five major misconceptions.
Misconception: Only men who are intimate with other men can get monkeypox.
While this virus is transmitted via “very direct skin contact,” as Dr. José F. Cordero, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Georgia College of Public Health, puts it, monkeypox is not actually a sexually transmitted infection. At present, you are at much higher risk of contracting monkeypox if you’re a man who has sex with men; around 98 percent of cases so far in the global outbreak so far are in bisexual or gay men. However, it’s crucial to note that anyone can contract the virus.
Health experts worry that linking monkeypox to queer communities will increase bias toward marginalized populations and hamper mitigation efforts. At the same time, they want to ensure those at risk have the information they need to stay safe.
Cases have been found in family members or roommates of people with monkeypox, because the virus can spread via contact with fabrics (e.g., clothing, bedding or towels) and other objects contaminated by virus fluids or sores. Transmission can occur after a person begins developing symptoms and until their rash has fully healed.
Animals can also spread monkeypox: In 2003, a shipment of animals from Ghana infected a group of pet prairie dogs in the US, which passed the virus to humans.
Misconception: The monkeypox outbreak means smallpox is back.
Smallpox, which devastated human communities for thousands of years, was eradicated completely in 1980 thanks to an intensive, decades-spanning global health effort. This is still considered one of the most significant public health accomplishments of all time.
Monkeypox is part of the same genus as smallpox, but it’s significantly different from and less dangerous than smallpox, says Cordero. “The percentage of people that have actually died from monkeypox or had very serious illness is small,” he says. Those most at risk from severe illness or death from monkeypox include newborn babies, small children and people with compromised immune systems.
Monkeypox cannot turn into smallpox, because they are different viruses. While smallpox had a fatality rate of around 30 percent, in recent years, the World Health Organization has reported a monkeypox fatality rate of around 3 to 6 percent. Experts say this outbreak is shaping up to have a much lower fatality rate. As of Aug. 8th, there have been no reported deaths in the US from the virus.
One benefit of the viruses’ similarities is that existing smallpox vaccines also work against monkeypox; the two Food and Drug Administration–approved smallpox vaccines are currently being used to inoculate people against monkeypox.
Misconception: You can get monkeypox just by shopping at the grocery store.
Experts say the virus is not spreading widely in the community via high-touch surfaces like grocery carts or subway poles. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared that monkeypox is currently a low risk to the general public. As for going abroad, the CDC has issued a Level 2 travel alert, notifying tourists and others to use enhanced precautions like hand-washing without discouraging travel anywhere in the world because of the virus.
Rather, close contact with infected people presents the greatest risk. Monkeypox virus has been found alive on bedding and clothing for up to 15 days, so anyone infected with monkeypox should isolate and disinfect their clothes, bedding and towels regularly. Anyone living in the same household with someone who has been infected should keep their linens separate, and all shared appliances and spaces should be regularly wiped down and disinfected.
And, of course, everyone should wash their hands — one simple, effective tool we all have for reducing the spread of infectious disease.
Misconception: Everyone will need a monkeypox vaccine.
There are two vaccines available, both originally used against smallpox but approved for vaccination against monkeypox. JYNNEOS, also known as Imvamune or Imvanex, is the more popular, because it’s approved for people with weakened immune systems, while ACAM2000 is not.
Unfortunately, JYNNEOS has been in short supply. The federal Department of Health and Human Services is working on getting at least 786,000 more doses to the public, for a total exceeding 1.1 million.
Because of limited supply in the US, the CDC is limiting monkeypox vaccines to people with confirmed, presumed or likely exposure to the virus. Currently, people who have been in contact with someone with monkeypox, people with a recent sexual partner who has monkeypox and people who have had multiple sexual partners in areas with confirmed monkeypox are eligible for the vaccine.
Vaccine rollouts vary by state, so anyone seeking a monkeypox vaccine should consult their state or county health department for more information.
Even once shots become widely accessible, the World Health Organization says it still won’t be necessary to vaccinate everyone against monkeypox. Cordero says public health organizations will likely just encourage people who are at high risk of infection to get vaccinated. That could change if the virus becomes more widespread, but for now, the priority is ensuring vaccines reach at-risk populations in all countries. As with the Covid-19 pandemic, low-income countries risk losing out as wealthier nations snap up supplies.
Misconception: This means we’ll live in a pandemic emergency forever.
With a new virus spreading while we’re still navigating life with Covid-19, many people may be wondering: Is this the new normal?
It is true that climate change and other environmental disruptions caused by humans contribute to the rising spread of diseases from wild animals to humans, also known as zoonotic diseases. “Many of the emerging diseases are really happening because of the intrusion of humans into areas like jungles — places we generally don’t go to,” Cordero says.
But he says we shouldn’t panic that we’ll live under pandemic emergencies forever. “Emerging infections are something that have been happening for the last 20, 30, 40 years,” he notes.
The WHO’s declaration of a global health emergency for monkeypox was the seventh such declaration since 2007. COVID-19 irrevocably changed the public’s relationship with infectious disease, but before that, we had global outbreaks of the Zika virus, Ebola and others, which also required a cooperative global strategy to contain.
“The fact that we’re having this focus on monkeypox reflects the increased interest in emerging infections,” Cordero says.
The current outbreak of the monkeypox virus is serious, given how widely it has spread, and it’s critical that the public understand the risks and precautions. But as always, clear and truthful information is the best vaccine against misinformation and panic, and will be key to getting the monkeypox virus under control.