Monkeypox ‘isn’t a gay disease’, Irish public health expert says – The Times

Monkeypox is not a gay disease and the high numbers found in that community are “coincidental,” a public health expert has said.

The first confirmed case of monkeypox was detected on the island of Ireland yesterday. The Public Health Agency (PHA) in Northern Ireland recorded a case of the zoonotic virus as the number of infections continues to rise throughout Europe.

The UK has detected over 80 cases of the disease so far but the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has said that the risk to the general population of catching the disease is low, and the illness is considered to be non-fatal in most cases. Cases of the virus in the UK have been predominantly identified among gay and bisexual men.

Gerald