CDC Releases Bizarre Tips on How to Have Sex With People Infected With Monkeypox
With monkeypox cases on the rise in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a new guideline on what sexually active people should do if they have been infected with the disease.
As the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, another disease is making waves globally, and it's monkeypox. While the disease is not as deadly as COVID-19, its symptoms are far from being harmless.
In the new guidance, the CDC basically tells people who might have been infected with monkeypox not to have sex and avoid direct contact with monkeypox rash, sores, or scabs from a person.
Other recommendations for potentially infected people are to try virtual sex, avoid kissing and masturbating six feet apart from another person and try to have sex with clothes on. The agency also recommended washing sex toys, fetish gear, fabrics, and hands after the act.
According to New York Post, the new guidance invoked New York City's recommendation that sexually active people use "glory holes" during the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent the spread of the disease.
A glory hole allows for sexual contact but prevents close face-to-face contact. It is a small opening cut into a wall that will enable someone to have sex with as little skin-to-skin contact as possible.
Monkeypox Being Sexually Transmitted Is Still Unknown
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is still investigating whether or not the disease is sexually transmitted. Daily Mail reported that the investigation came after Italian and German scientists discovered fragments of the disease in the semen of patients.
The WHO is leaving no tables unturned when it comes to how monkeypox is transmitted - whether via skin-to-skin contact or through sex.
However, there is evidence to support the theory that the monkeypox outbreak could have stemmed from sexual activity.
WHO expert Dr. David Heymann noted that sexual contact could amplify transmission, New York Post reported. But health officials warned that the virus can still spread even with close contact or cling to clothing.
According to Heyman, unlike COVID, the monkeypox disease is containable and not airborne.
"This is not COVID... We need to slow it down, but it does not spread in the air and we have vaccines to protect against it," he noted.
Most infections in the monkeypox outbreak are reportedly being detected among gay or bisexual men and connected to international travel.
The CDC is advising sexually-active gay and bisexual men to be aware of the appearance of lesions, rashes, or scabs on their skin. If ever these symptoms do appear, they advise getting in contact with a sexual health clinic as soon as possible.
In the U.K., Britain's Health Security Agency has tied the spread to men who have had sex with other men, as this was the case for around 99 percent of their monkeypox patients back in June.
CDC Reveals Symptoms of Monkeypox Amid Worldwide Spread
There has been a recent spike in the U.S., with 12 more cases recorded last Wednesday. This is the biggest rise in monkeypox cases, with the total now rising to 85 in the U.S. alone.
However, the disease has been spreading globally, with over 2,000 cases reported outside of West Africa. According to the CDC, symptoms for people possibly infected with monkeypox include fever, headaches, muscle and back pain, swollen lymph nodes, exhaustion, and experiencing the chills. However, the most well-known symptom is the monkeypox lesions which show up as pustules on the skin.
READ MORE: Free COVID-19 Test Kits Can Be Ordered Online for the Second Time Around: Here's How to Get Yours
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Rick Martin
WATCH: CDC Announces Over 45 Confirmed Cases of Monkeypox in United States, 11 in New York - From News 12