Monkeypox can infect anyone, not just men in the LGBT community, according to Dr. Colleen Lyons, Carson City health officer and chair of the city’s Board of Health.
“Anyone can acquire monkeypox,” she said, dispelling rumors it only affects gay men. “Just like anyone can acquire smallpox. It’s a virus in the same class.”
Lyons was asked about monkeypox and the LGBT community during a Board of Health meeting Aug. 18. She said the virus is disproportionately affecting men in the LGBT community right now and that everyone should be concerned with stopping its spread.
“That’s what we saw with HIV when it started and that’s not what it is today,” Lyons said. “So hopefully if we jump on this strong and fast, we can limit it and shut it down. But if not, we’ll all be getting monkeypox.”
According to the Center for Disease Control, monkeypox can cause a painful rash, fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, exhaustion, muscle aches, headaches, and respiratory symptoms.
“There are no treatments specifically for monkeypox virus infections,” says the CDC website. “However, monkeypox and smallpox viruses are genetically similar, which means that antiviral drugs and vaccines developed to protect against smallpox may be used to prevent and treat monkeypox virus infections.”
The good news is the virus is rarely fatal, Lyons said, though it can necessitate isolation for two to four weeks until skin lesions heal.
Lyons relayed input from other doctors pointing out the virus was relatively isolated in West Africa before spreading.
“Because we didn’t take that aggressively internationally, we’re now going to spend millions and millions and millions more on trying to control it on our own borders than if we had just controlled it at the source,” she said.
According to Nicki Aaker, director of Carson City Health and Human Services, there is no known case of monkeypox in the Carson area, as of Aug. 18. Still, combined fever and rash symptoms should be evaluated by medical professionals.
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