Dr. David Heymann, former World Health Organization (WHO) emergencies department head, revealed that the current monkypox outbreak was traced back to two LGBT festivals in Europe.
"We know monkeypox can spread when there is close contact with the lesions of someone who is infected. And it looks like sexual contact has now amplified that transmission," he said.
Health authorities have already begun tracing cases back to the Gran Canarian gay pride festival, which was held May 5 to 15 and attended by up to 80,000 people. In Belgium, meanwhile, three cases have been linked to Darklands, a large-scale fetish festival held May 5 to 8 in Antwerp.
This is contrary to initial reports saying that the outbreak is linked to a single pride event.
Reports said that most of the known cases in Europe have been among men who have sex with men, but anyone can be infected through close contact with an infected person. (Related: Monkeypox outbreak in Spain being spread through homosexual encounters among men.)
"By nature, sexual activity involves intimate contact, which one would expect to increase the likelihood of transmission, whatever a person's sexual orientation and irrespective of the mode of transmission," said Dr. Mike Skinner, a virologist at Imperial College London.
European Center for Disease Prevention and Control Director Dr. Andrea Ammon warned the public that the likelihood of further spread of the virus through close contact, such as during sexual activities among persons with multiple sexual partners, is considered to be high.
"We have seen a few cases in Europe over the last five years, just in travelers, but this is the first time we are seeing cases across many countries at the same time in people who have not traveled to the endemic regions in Africa," Dr. Rosamund Lewis, who runs WHO's smallpox research, said in a social media streaming event.
The U.S. has confirmed at least two cases, with a third suspected case being investigated by health officials in Florida. The other cases have been reported in New York City and Massachusetts.
CDC alerts gay and bisexual men as monkeypox spreads in LGBT community
Early this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) alerted gay and bisexual men that monkeypox appears to be spreading in the LGBT community globally, warning them to take precautions if they have been in close contact with someone who may have the virus and to be on the lookout for symptoms.
CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Brooks stated that many of the people affected globally are men who identify as gay or bisexual. Though the group has a greater chance of exposure to monkeypox right now, anyone can get monkeypox through close personal contact regardless of sexual orientation.
The CDC held a news conference about the outbreak because LGBT Pride month usually kicks off around the Memorial Day weekend, and officials wanted to make sure the community was aware of the situation. He also urged doctors to be on the lookout for the disease, because it can look like other types of STD.
According to Brooks, everyone with a rash or lesion around or involving their genitals, their anus, or any other place that they have not seen it there before, should be fully evaluated for sexually transmitted infection and other illnesses.
"We want to help people make the best-informed decisions to protect their health and the health of their community from monkeypox," Brooks said.
Monkeypox usually begins with symptoms similar to the flu, including fever, headache, muscle aches, chills, exhaustion and swollen lymph nodes. It then progresses to body rashes on the face, hands, feet, eyes, mouth and genitals that turn into raised bumps that then become blisters.
Visit Outbreak.news for more articles on the spread of monkeypox.
Watch the video below titled to know how gay sex detonates the monkeypox bomb.
This video is from the channel The Prisoner on Brighteon.com.
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