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Monkeypox: How another infectious disease is stigmatizing LGBTQ+ communities

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Christophe Ena
/
AP
Monkeypox cases in Missouri and Kansas are low compared with more populous states.

As monkeypox cases climb in the U.S., learn more about symptoms, vaccines, and how the disease is reigniting stigma against gay and bisexual men.

Monkeypox cases in the United States continue to climb following the government's declaration of a public health emergency. Numbers in Kansas and Missouri remain low, but states like California and New York have thousands of cases.

With growing concern over the disease, Dr. Dana Hawkinson, an expert in infectious diseases at University of Kansas Medical Center, details how monkeypox spreads, its symptoms and vaccines.

The spread of monkeypox has renewed stigma against gay and bisexual men. While queer men represent the primary group affected, the disease does not exclusively infect them. Dr. Katie Batza, associate professor of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at KU, explains why rhetoric suggesting otherwise can prove dangerous to LGBTQ+ communities, drawing on the similar history of HIV/AIDS.

  • Dr. Dana Hawkinson, Infectious Diseases at University of Kansas Medical Center
  • Dr. Katie Batza, Professor of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at KU
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