Is mpox an STI? The societal aspects and healthcare implications of a key question

Jaime Garcia Iglesias; Maurice Nagington; Martyn Pickersgill; Michael Brady; Claire Dewsnap; Liz Highleyman; Francisco Javier Membrillo de Novales; Will Nutland; Steven Thrasher; Eric Umar; Ian Muchamore; Jamie Webb

doi:10.12688/wellcomeopenres.18436.2

Is mpox an STI? The societal aspects and healthcare implications of a key question

Wellcome Open Res. 2023 Jul 4:7:252. doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.18436.2. eCollection 2022.

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
² School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
³ King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
⁴ Sexual Health, Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, UK.
⁵ POZ Magazine, New York City, USA.
⁶ CBRN and Infectious Diseases Unit, Hospital Central de la Defensa "Gomez Ulla", Madrid, Spain.
⁷ The Love Tank CIC, London, UK.
⁸ Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, Northwestern University, Evanston, USA.
⁹ Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi.
¹⁰ Centre for Technomoral Futures, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.

Abstract

This letter explores the societal aspects and healthcare implications that underlie thinking about mpox (formerly known was monkeypox), in the 2022 outbreak, as a sexually transmitted infection (STI). The authors examine what underlies this question, exploring what is an STI, what is sex, and what is the role of stigma in sexual health promotion. The authors argue that, in this specific outbreak, mpox is an STI among men who have sex with men (MSM). The authors highlight the need of critically thinking about how to communicate effectively, the role of homophobia and other inequalities, and the importance of the social sciences.

Keywords: Monkeypox; STI; public health; sex; sexual health; social sciences.

Grants and funding

MP is currently in receipt of funds from Wellcome [223615; 218471; 209519], UK Medical Research Council (MRC) [MR/S035818/1], UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) [ES/T014164/1], and Leverhulme Trust [RPG-2020-295]. JGI is in receipt of funds from the Sociology of Health and Illness Foundation [Mildred Baxter Postdoctoral Fellowship 2021] and the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) [ES/W002426/1].