Origin of monkeypox
A variant of smallpox, monkeypox was discovered in 1958 in a laboratory in Denmark in macaques imported from Singapore.
This virus is a zoonosis, ie a disease transmitted from animals to humans. Contrary to its name, the original hosts of the virus are different types of rodents that can be found in West and Central Africa.
Other infected animals, such as antelopes or squirrels for example, can also transmit the virus to humans through bites, poor cooking of meat, handling of carcasses, etc.
Transmission and stigma
According to the World Health Organization, this disease is spread from person to person through close contact with a person with a rash (face-to-face, skin-to-skin, mouth-to-mouth, mouth to skin, sexual relations).
The WHO specifies, among other things, that objects infected by a sick person (clothing, bed linen or towels, electrical appliances, etc.) can be vectors of contamination to a lesser extent.
I find that there has been a lot of stigmatization, especially in certain media.
If the current epidemic mainly affects men with homosexual relationships, Renaud deplores the stigmatization of the community of which he is a part: “I find that there has been a lot of stigmatization, especially in certain media. I read and heard speeches that questioned a kind of liberalization or trivialization of sexual practices as being the cause of the virus. Honestly, reading this kind of thing in 2022, when we have nevertheless gone through several epidemics, particularly that of HIV in the homosexual community… It made me angry because I find it completely inappropriate and counterproductive .“