Stigma and public health responses: Lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic to inform the recent monkeypox outbreak

Dzobo, Mathias; Gwinji, Phanuel Tawanda; Murewanhema, Grant; Musuka, Godfrey; Dzinamarira, Tafadzwa

doi:10.1016/j.puhip.2022.100315

Cited by 2 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…This is not unexpected, but does reflect how mpox was presented in the media as yet another gay disease. 9,12 Misconceptions of mpox as a "gay disease" is reminiscent of the early AIDS epidemic, which was also initially labelled, with severe consequences, as "gay-related immune deficiency." 7 Fortunately, as the mpox outbreak progressed in 2022, efforts were made to adjust communication such that it focuses on objective epidemiological risk factors instead of population groups.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…3,5,6 Although reassuring, concerns were raised about mpox being labelled as the next "gay" disease 7-10 because of analogies with previous stigmatized outbreaks of HIV, other sexually transmittable infections (STIs), and COVID-19. 7,[11][12][13][14] This was acknowledged by the WHO, who subsequently renamed monkeypox as mpox in November, 2022. 15 Although stigma was expected [7][8][9] and has been present on Twitter, 16 scientific literature on mpox remains mainly focused on epidemiology and clinical outcomes.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Mpox stigma among men who have sex with men in the Netherlands: Underlying beliefs and comparisons across other commonly stigmatized infections

Zimmermann,

Gültzow,

Marcos

et al. 2023

Journal of Medical Virology

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People with or at risk for mpox are likely to be stigmatized because of analogies to other sexually transmitted infections. Stigma is driven by beliefs about the perceived severity of the condition and perceived responsibility for acquiring the condition, both in broader society and individual responsibility. We explored these beliefs and compared them across mpox, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), syphilis, gonorrhoea, and chlamydia in an online survey, conducted in July 2022, with 394 men‐who‐have‐sex‐with‐men in the Netherlands. We compared mean scores between infections using repeated measures analysis of variance and conducted hierarchical regression analyses to identify determinants of both mpox perceived responsibility endpoints. Results showed that participants expected that mpox would be seen as a “gay disease” and will be used to blame gay men. Compared to other infections, mpox was considered less severe than HIV, but more severe than syphilis, gonorrhoea, and chlamydia. Perceived responsibility was comparable across infections, but, for each infection, participants perceived attributed responsibility to be higher in society than individual responsibility. Both perceived responsibility endpoints were highly correlated with each other and with other stigma beliefs. These results provide insight on the underlying determinants of mpox stigma and demonstrate that anticipated mpox stigma is present in the Netherlands.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mpox stigma among men who have sex with men in the Netherlands: Underlying beliefs and comparisons across other commonly stigmatized infections

Zimmermann,

Gültzow,

Marcos

et al. 2023

Journal of Medical Virology

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“…20 Thus, the detection of monkeypox matters even more in the current post-COVID, more vigilant world. 21 . CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…20 Thus, the detection of monkeypox matters even more in the current post-COVID, more vigilant world. 21 4 Currently, the MPXV testing relies on methods including polymerase chain reaction (PCR), [22][23][24] enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), 25,26 loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), 27 and microarray. 28,29 PCR, recognized as the gold standard for the diagnosis of various diseases including monkeypox, displays high accuracy and sensitivity, yet its application in low-resource areas is limited due to its requirements for expensive equipment and skilled operators.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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CRISPR/Cas12a-mediated ultrasensitive and on-site monkeypox viral testing

Zhao

Wang

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The unexpected transmission of monkeypox virus (MPXV) from Central and West Africa to previously non-endemic locations is triggering a global panic. The ultrasensitive, rapid, and specific detection of MPXV is crucial for controlling its spreading, while such technology has rarely been reported. Herein, we proposed an MPXV assay combining recombinase-aided amplification (RAA) and CRISPR/Cas12a for the first time. This assay targeted MPXV F3L gene and yielded a low detection limit (LOD) of 101 copies/μL. Deriving from the high specificity nature of RAA and CRISPR/Cas12a, through rational optimizations of probes and conditions, this assay showed high selectivity that could distinguish MPXV from other orthopox viruses and current high-profile viruses. To facilitate on-site screening of potential MPXV carriers, a kit integrating lateral flow strips was developed, enabling naked-eye MPXV detection with a LOD of 104 copies/μL. Our RAA-Cas12a-MPXV assay was able to detect MPXV without the need for sophisticated operation and expensive equipment. We envision that this RAA-Cas12a-MPXV assay can be deployed in emerging viral outbreaks for on-site surveillance of MPXV.

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Stigma and public health responses: Lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic to inform the recent monkeypox outbreak

Cited by 2 publications

References 2 publications

Mpox stigma among men who have sex with men in the Netherlands: Underlying beliefs and comparisons across other commonly stigmatized infections

Mpox stigma among men who have sex with men in the Netherlands: Underlying beliefs and comparisons across other commonly stigmatized infections

CRISPR/Cas12a-mediated ultrasensitive and on-site monkeypox viral testing

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