To ask if you are worried about monkeypox?

[WhenTheNightFalls]

Can't help but feel a little anxious about it all. Aibu?

This misinformation people believe to suit there own agendas is shocking tbh. Still some on here basically believing it’s an STI only affecting gay people because of the way it’s reported. It’s not! There are also different ways it can spread. It’s spreading across Europe/further afield.

I work in the NHS. We have struggled through the last two years and trying to work and ‘live’ with covid. I’m mildly concerned and watching because if this starts spreading through children who do have close contact easily which then potentially affects parents and onwards.

I’m not ready to do this all again so soon and the NHS is already a huge mess. We already see the nasty side to chicken pox which is rife atm. Not ready for another outbreak. Let’s hope it’s contained.

Right now my main concern is the same posters who contributed to the anxiety and panic over covid on here doing the same again. I've already seen posts demanding the return of masks/SD etc and a few of the names so familiar from the past two years posting again.

People's mental health is still suffering from the fallout of the pandemic. I really hope that certain posters keep this in mind before they start with their hyperbole once more. But I won't hold my breath.

I wish I had the headspace to worry about monkeypox.

I just checked twitter out of curiosity. So many people believing monkeypox is a vaccine side effect. Where is the logic!

I am unsure about hyperbole. I could not care any less about covid, but Monkeypox does seem on the surface of things to be even worse to me, as a parent. It affects mainly children under twelve, pregnant women and vulnerable people.
I don't think it is as simple as to dismiss it with a flick of the wrist as more unwanted bad news. Our mental health will be in a much more difficult place if our children end up in ICU or worse, so although there really is no reason at this stage to be alarmed or to even think about mitigations, to say there is no cause to be concerned at all is a stretch too far. Of course people are right to be concerned.

We need a quick vaccine roll out that is for sure.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10848441/Virologists-claim-hyper-mutated-monkeypox-sweeping-world-far-quirks-expected.html

Anyone who wasn’t concerned getting more concerned now? If it’s mutated and is more easily spreadable it’s always going to be a concern in over populated cities.

We need a quick vaccine roll out that is for sure.

Having read a bit about the smallpox vaccine I won't be in a rush to get it (or any other vaccine but that's a different story!). Thankfully I'm not in any of the vulnerable categories so shouldn't have to worry.

Give me strength. I have seen a number of things being put down to vaccine side effects now, including the severe hepatitis that’s been around lately, among young children, none of whom have been vaccinated and most of whom would have been born before their parents were vaccinated, but still the usual tin foil hat brigade cannot be convinced that it’s not “because of the experimental vaccine” and “we told you so”. Sigh…

pink If you have children or work in a face to face job you might rethink your view on the vaccine. Monkey pox assuming you are not one of the unlucky 1-11% that die from the disease leaves disfiguring scars. I would take a smallpox vaccine tomorrow if I could, and will not hesitate to vaccinate my children.

Yes I see what you mean staffy

'Researchers wrote that this was 'far more than one would expect considering the estimated substitution rate for orthopoxviruses'. They also warned that an 'evolutionary jump' — like with the Covid Omicron strain — may have created a 'hyper-mutated virus'.

I don't have children @Swayingpalmtrees and I work in an office job. I have a needle phobia and this one sound particularly horrendous to me, along with the potential issues of caring for the vaccine site afterwards. Admittedly it was on a US site but I presume it would be the same.

I am needle phobic as well, but wouldn't you rather have one that a face disfigured by scars? Honestly? I would rather give birth than have an injection seriously that is how bad my phobia is, but I would hate to catch MP and be disfigured for life, best case.

No. I don’t take the daily mail as a reputable source of anything.

I’ll stick with the statement which the WHO released yesterday saying the virus hasn’t mutated.

And again, not a word about it in the news today.

Honestly these discussions need to be discouraged because all they’re doing is spreading fear and panic and increasing people’s anxieties when this is totally unnecessary.

No, I wouldn't. I somehow managed to have the covid vaccinations but the smallpox one sounds particularly horrific on top of the fact it's an injection.

Honestly these discussions need to be discouraged because all they’re doing is spreading fear and panic and increasing people’s anxieties when this is totally unnecessary

I hope you are right.

I am and I’m not.

I am because it seems to me to be a nasty virus. An outbreak of a virus with a fatality rate of 1 in 100 that poses a particular danger to children under 12 seems on the face of it like something to worry about. It looks horrible. The NHS is creaking at the seams. And an isolation period of 21 days sounds horrendous.

I’m not because it seems like it’s quite easily identifiable and not hugely contagious, in the sense that you can’t catch it by walking past someone in Sainsbury’s.

I’m also not because there’s so much we don’t know at this stage and I just don’t have the headspace to get anxious about unknowns.

But I hope it’s contained.

Why are you shutting down calm debate about a new disease alternative I wonder why you are bothering to come on to a thread, fill up with incorrect information and minimising people's legitimate concerns before finishing with:

Honestly these discussions need to be discouraged because all they’re doing is spreading fear and panic and increasing people’s anxieties when this is totally unnecessary

There is no panic on this thread
There is no fear on this thread
My anxieties are not increased in any meaningful way - no one else has said they are feeling overly anxious and panicky.

Are you talking about how you are feeling?

Because fair enough if you are feeling anxious, but you don't calm anxiety and worry with an information black out. In the same way we dealt with covid, we will deal with Monkeypox. There are treatments and there are vaccines available - the situation could be a whole lot worse, we had none at the beginning of covid. We will get on top of this quickly - certainly in this country - I am sure. Track and trace might even work this time!! but don't hold your breath

When I say new disease, it is obviously an old disease but an outbreak of this size outside of Africa is a new phenomena.

From what I have read, health agencies involved are taking this seriously and acting with a degree of urgency. I do hope it can be contained and the outbreak(s) swiftly burns out.

Exactly. I think the most likely explanation for the cases in gay/bisexual men is that they are a community of people who are generally very aware of sexual health so are quick to get unusual symptoms checked out.

There’s a very homophobic tone to some of these comments.

Stop scaremongering and get a grip.

Why is it deemed scaremongering to talk factually about something that is actually occurring?

This outbreak has nothing to do with sexuality though, the people at the festival could have been simply sitting next to someone with Monkeypox and caught it or wiped their hands on the same towel in the loo, there is far too much being made of the gay/sauna angle and it is repellent and homophobic.

Because some people want to be hyper controlling about what other people are allowed to talk about.

Yes I don't see how it is scaremongering to discuss it.

I am not scared of monkey pox, but I am mildly concerned where this can lead. There is no paranoia, I understand the risk is low, it is just a discussion on something that is happening in the world today and people are sharing their thoughts on it and analysing the information currently available on it.

There have been some scaremongering comments, but these a few and far between. There misinformation comments are far more worrying, such as claiming its "just an std".

I’ll stick with the statement which the WHO released yesterday saying the virus hasn’t mutated.

They said they don't yet have evidence that the virus has mutated but that could change. They went to great lengths to explain that they communicate information as they get it but advice can change because it's a rapidly moving picture.

I saw the Portuguese genome mapping on Twitter yesterday. I'm not a scientist so I can't say whether it's meaningful or good quality or whatever but I haven't seen any scientists discrediting it. So we shall see.

I'm not any more worried than I was before I read that hyperbolic DM article.

Previous outbreaks outside of the countries where it's endemic have shown pretty much zero human to human transmission. Obviously it's transmitting more easily, that why it's been flagged as unusual.