Is monkeypox a sexually transmitted disease?

Monkeypox is not yet considered a sexually transmitted disease.

Dr. Doan Van Loi Em, Deputy Head of Clinical Department 3, Ho Chi Minh City Dermatology Hospital, said that the reason why monkeypox is not yet considered a sexually transmitted disease is because sexually transmitted diseases are mainly spread through sexual intercourse, whether it is genital, oral or anal sex. Some sexually transmitted diseases such as genital herpes can be spread by skin-to-skin contact, but that is not the main route of transmission.

Opposite,monkeypoxtransmitted through many routes, mainly through contact with skin lesions of the patient (also known as skin-to-skin contact transmission), and even through personal items such as clothes, towels, etc.

In addition, the virus can also be spread through direct contact with respiratory secretions such as saliva or mucus.

Skin lesions in people with monkeypox often appear on the face, hands, feet and genital area with the appearance of blisters or erythematous papules.

In other words, anyone can become infected with the monkeypox virus through contact with skin lesions, personal items, or respiratory secretions of an infected person without having to have sexual contact with them.

"It is still unclear whether the monkeypox virus can be transmitted through semen or vaginal secretions, which is the definition of a sexually transmitted disease. However, sexual intercourse will increase the level of contact in an "intimate and close" way, increasing the risk of disease transmission through skin-to-skin contact and the respiratory tract," said Dr. Doan Van Loi Em.

According to Dr. Doan Van Loi Em, although monkeypox is recorded in the majority of homosexual men, this is not a disease exclusive to this group of people, but anyone can get the disease through the above transmission routes.

The reason for the high prevalence of the disease in men who have sex with men (MSM) may be due to the frequency and level of "intimate and close" contact with many strange sexual partners of this group of people, which is often higher than that of other groups of people.

What are the common symptoms of monkeypox?

Dr. Doan Van Loi also added that monkeypox often manifests with symptoms such as:

Fever, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, body aches, skin rash depending on the stage of the disease.

Skin lesions usually appear on the face, hands, feet and genital area with the manifestation of blisters or erythematous papules, which can progress to ulcers on the face, hands or genital area.

However, in a few cases, the disease can have symptoms that are quite similar to some sexually transmitted diseases, so it can easily lead to misdiagnosis or missing the disease. For example, the patient may only present with a sore in the genital area, anus or in the mouth, which can be misdiagnosed as syphilis, herpes simplex or chancroid.

In addition, people with monkeypox may have co-infection with a number of other sexually transmitted diseases.

According to the US CDC, an estimated 38% of monkeypox cases are co-infected with HIV and 41% have had or are having sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis within the past year.

Dr. CK2 I confirm once again that monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease, but sexual behavior can be a favorable factor that increases the risk of contracting the disease. Therefore, everyone needs to recognize the risk factors and symptoms to proactively go to the doctor for screening tests and timely treatment, in order to reduce the risk of spreading the disease to the community.

Kim Van