Now that Boone County has logged its first monkeypox case and the number of infections statewide continues to grow, many MU students are concerned by a lack of accurate information about the virus.
At least 50 cases have been reported statewide.. Boone County reported its first case Tuesday afternoon.
Several students said they are concerned that they continue to see inaccurate narratives in news outlets regarding the LGBTQ+ community. Monkeypox has spread quickly in the LBGTQ+ community since its arrival in the United States in May, they said, creating a misconception that it’s a sexually transmitted disease.
But CDC guidelines say that while monkeypox can be spread by sex, it can also be contracted by less intimate forms of skin-to-skin contact.
“In other words, sex is just one of the ways that monkeypox can be spread,” according to the CDC.
Zanny Fitzgerald, an MU freshman, fears the continued distribution of misinformation.
“Coming from someone who is immunocompromised and not getting the right information, it’s really scary,” Fitzgerald said.
MU junior Halle Maksimik wondered if the stigmatization around monkeypox could grow to replicate the mass panic experienced during the AIDS epidemic.
“That’s never a good thing, when the news is like ‘oh dear, the queers are infectious,‘” said Maksimik. “There are already enough reasons that people don’t really want to be around queer people without thinking we’re going to infect them.”
The White House has warned that monkeypox is likely to spread on college campuses and on Aug. 25 held a virtual meeting with higher education officials from across the nation.
MU Health Care has published an article on their website. This briefly explains the history of the monkeypox virus, preventative measures should take to prevent its spread, and what to do if they believe they have been infected.
Unlike COVID-19, which is spread through liquid particles exhaled by the infected person, monkeypox is transferred through skin-to-skin contact.
Compared to COVID-19, monkeypox has proven to have a lower fatality rate. With these differences, MU Health Care is approaching the monkeypox virus as they would “with any emerging disease,” according to MU spokesperson Christian Basi.
“We remain committed to student health and safety and are fortunate that we have excellent resources that are ready to respond should the disease emerge in our campus community,” Basi said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have also created this website specifically for individuals within colleges and universities.
Senior Tricia Denn said inaccurate information about monkeypox can stigmatize those who contract the virus.
“That leads to kind of witch hunts, because, you know, they assume ‘oh, you’re a bad person if you got that,'” Denn said. “Or, if a kid gets it, they assume something terrible happened, when in fact, it could’ve just been a handshake.”
Now that Boone County has logged its first monkeypox case and the number of infections statewide continues to grow, many MU students are concerned by a lack of accurate information about the virus.
At least 50 cases have been reported statewide.. Boone County reported its first case Tuesday afternoon.
Several students said they are concerned that they continue to see inaccurate narratives in news outlets regarding the LGBTQ+ community. Monkeypox has spread quickly in the LBGTQ+ community since its arrival in the United States in May, they said, creating a misconception that it’s a sexually transmitted disease.
But CDC guidelines say that while monkeypox can be spread by sex, it can also be contracted by less intimate forms of skin-to-skin contact.
“In other words, sex is just one of the ways that monkeypox can be spread,” according to the CDC.
Zanny Fitzgerald, an MU freshman, fears the continued distribution of misinformation.
“Coming from someone who is immunocompromised and not getting the right information, it’s really scary,” Fitzgerald said.
MU junior Halle Maksimik wondered if the stigmatization around monkeypox could grow to replicate the mass panic experienced during the AIDS epidemic.
“That’s never a good thing, when the news is like ‘oh dear, the queers are infectious,‘” said Maksimik. “There are already enough reasons that people don’t really want to be around queer people without thinking we’re going to infect them.”
The White House has warned that monkeypox is likely to spread on college campuses and on Aug. 25 held a virtual meeting with higher education officials from across the nation.
MU Health Care has published an article on their website. This briefly explains the history of the monkeypox virus, preventative measures should take to prevent its spread, and what to do if they believe they have been infected.
Unlike COVID-19, which is spread through liquid particles exhaled by the infected person, monkeypox is transferred through skin-to-skin contact.
Compared to COVID-19, monkeypox has proven to have a lower fatality rate. With these differences, MU Health Care is approaching the monkeypox virus as they would “with any emerging disease,” according to MU spokesperson Christian Basi.
“We remain committed to student health and safety and are fortunate that we have excellent resources that are ready to respond should the disease emerge in our campus community,” Basi said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have also created this website specifically for individuals within colleges and universities.
Senior Tricia Denn said inaccurate information about monkeypox can stigmatize those who contract the virus.
“That leads to kind of witch hunts, because, you know, they assume ‘oh, you’re a bad person if you got that,'” Denn said. “Or, if a kid gets it, they assume something terrible happened, when in fact, it could’ve just been a handshake.”
