Monkeypox self-diagnosis abilities, determinants of vaccination and self-isolation intention after diagnosis among MSM, the Netherlands, July 2022

Research ||

The global epidemic of monkeypox, a zoonotic disease, has recently changed from infections predominantly following an interaction with animals, to human-to-human transmission [1,2]. The monkeypox epidemic in European countries is currently predominantly affecting men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) and the number of infections is still increasing [3,4]. In the Netherlands 1,025 cases have been reported as at 11 August 2022, the majority in Amsterdam. Given the spread of the disease, investigating self-diagnostic abilities, and vaccination and self-isolation intentions is relevant to tailor further public health responses.

We conducted an online survey among MSM using a cohort established in 2017 [5] (n = 257), along with recruitment of MSM on a gay online dating app (n = 137) in the first half of July 2022, before the start of targeted monkeypox vaccination in the Netherlands [6]. Of the included 394 MSM, 43% (n=171) were below the age of 45-years, 6% (n=22) were living with HIV and 66% (n=241) were currently using HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) (see supplementary materials S1 for the population characteristics by PrEP use status, and S2 for participants’ age distribution).

Photo by Matteus Silva

References:

Bragazzi NL, Kong JD, Mahroum N, Tsigalou C, Khamisy-Farah R, Converti M, et al. Epidemiological trends and clinical features of the ongoing monkeypox epidemic: A preliminary pooled data analysis and literature review. J Med Virol. 2022;jmv.27931. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.27931 PMID: 35692117
Bunge EM, Hoet B, Chen L, Lienert F, Weidenthaler H, Baer LR, et al. The changing epidemiology of human monkeypox-A potential threat? A systematic review. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2022;16(2):e0010141. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010141 PMID: 35148313
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Joint ECDC-WHO Regional Office for Europe Monkeypox Surveillance Bulletin. Stockholm: ECDC; 2022. Available from: https://monkeypoxreport.ecdc.europa.eu/.
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