The number of monkey pox cases is increasing around the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) there are currently more than 23,600 confirmed cases of monkeypox virus. Although Europe is the epicenter of the outbreak, there are infections in 80 countries and on all continents. The World Health Organization (WHO) calls it ‘an international public health threat’, giving the highest warning signal. Scientists disagree on whether or not monkey pox is airborne. But what we do know is that the disease can be spread by direct contact with bodily fluids or the blisters that appear on the skin, as well as through contact with clothing or linen that has been in contact with an infected person. The virus is not classified as an STI, but can be transmitted during sex. Available data shows that men who have sex with men so far disproportionately hard hit to be. At the end of July, the RIVM started the vaccinating people from high-risk groups.
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Although the increase in infections is worrying, it is good to know that the disease is often relatively mild and that few people die. Nevertheless, in 2022 there will be 73 people died of the virus.
The most common symptoms of an infection are: fever, headache, muscle and back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion and, small blisters that look like pimples or blisters. Not everyone has all the symptoms, and as with any viral infection, different people can react very differently to the virus.
So what it feels like to be infected with the monkeypox virus is different for everyone. The ailment can be painful and isolating — not to mention the psychological effects. To put a face to the data, VICE interviewed Scott McDonald, a 31-year-old dancer from London, who is recovering from monkey pox.
When did you first hear about monkey pox?
I first heard about the disease in May or June. I was working as a dancer on a cruise ship at the time. I read the news, and thought, “Oh no, not again”. By then I had been on that ship for six months and I was really looking forward to going to the Pride parade in Sitges, a town about half an hour from Barcelona. It is a beautiful coastal city with many gay bars and gay beaches. I remember thinking how sorry I would be if this ruined my visit. I was really looking forward to the summer. Yet I immediately took the news more seriously than my friends, because I had worked as a nursing assistant in a hospital with covid patients during the corona pandemic. My friends didn’t care about the messages, they just wanted to have fun. So I was aware that the virus was going around, but I wasn’t concerned enough to change my plans. I just went to Sitges and I had a great time.
When did you notice that something was wrong?
I visited Sitges from 9th to 16th June. The following week I wasn’t feeling so well. I was tired and also had a slight fever. I looked up some information online and read something about enlarged lymph nodes in the groin. It struck me that there was something there with me. I joked with a friend that I had just done a YouTube squat workout for the first time, so I might have pulled my leg muscle. At such a moment you will add everything, but it is just like with corona: you tell yourself “it’s a cold”, while you know that it can also be corona. After Stiges, I visited many different friends because I had been away from home for so long. The fact that I visited so many people in a short period of time made the contact investigation complicated.
When did you decide it was time to get tested for monkey pox?
I noticed I had a lump on my anus. I wanted to get that checked with the doctor because it could be anything, and I had just been to a big party. But it sexual health center was congested so they didn’t call me until Wednesday. They said I could get an emergency appointment on Friday, June 24, which was two days later.
They then examined everything at the doctor. They took a swab of the vesicle and told me that monkeypox infections had increased in London. This meant treating everything as monkey pox unless they could determine with certainty that it wasn’t some other similar disease, such as herpes or syphilis. They told me to isolate myself until the results came in, but the results could take three to four business days. It ended up being four to five business days, so it took a while.
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What symptoms did you get afterwards?
In the days that followed, I got a stain on my face and later on my hand and in places where you normally wouldn’t expect stains, such as on the bottom and top of your foot. Then I began to isolate more seriously, and some time later I got the positive result. I just had to get sick, but by then the worst was over. I’ve never had a really high fever or really deep fatigue or anything like that.
For me the blisters were really the worst symptom. The first were on my buttocks, and those were the most painful. I couldn’t sit anymore. It was really awful for a few days. I took painkillers all day, and then I would wake up at night because the pills had worn off. After that, new blisters appeared just like that, but I didn’t suffer from that. It was very frustrating and boring. You have to wait until the blisters have healed and only when the scabs have fallen off and there is new skin in that place, you are no longer contagious. At first the blisters looked like little red spots, like I had acne, but later they became the typical blisters you see in photos. A kind of donut shape with white pus in the middle. They are round and small — about half an inch in diameter.
How long did your quarantine last and when did it end?
I still have minor blisters and I have to avoid children under the age of 12 and pregnant women until those blisters are completely healed as well. According to the guidelines of the health center, I can come out of isolation as long as I cover myself.
To be allowed out of quarantine, you must have no new blisters in the last 48 hours, you must not have been fever-free for 72 hours, and all remaining blisters must be scabs. The painful symptoms lasted for about seven or eight days, and I’ve had this virus for about two weeks now.
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Have you experienced symptoms you were not expecting?
The physical symptoms disappeared, but mentally it was difficult. I got frustrated because it seemed so harmless, it’s just a speck. At the same time, you know that if you pass it on to someone else, they may have to go through the same as you. The mental impact was greater than I expected. Like an STD, monkeypox leads to embarrassment and stigma. But the difference is that you should also inform your friends and family, because you could pass it on to them too. I had to call my mother, because I had seen her during the contagious period. She was then no longer able to go to her granddaughter’s birthday because monkey pox poses a risk especially to children.
What do you want to say to others, especially in the LGBTI community, who are at risk for monkey pox?
Everyone should have access to the most up-to-date information because it changes all the time. And if you see a spot in a strange place, realize it could be monkey pox and get tested. If we can learn anything from the AIDS epidemic, it is that stigmatization only causes damage. The best we can do now is learn from it and inform ourselves well.
For more information about the diagnosis and treatment of monkeypox (monkeypox) you can visit the website of the World Health Organisation (WHO) visit. Tests are available through the GGD or your GP.
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