In some ways, the current outbreak of monkeypox closely resembles two other public health crises of the last 40 years — COVID-19 and AIDS.
The disease was barely even known to the American public before this year, when it was limited to a few cases each year among people who traveled from Africa. Then the virus that causes monkeypox started behaving differently and was showing up in clusters around the world. Like COVID-19, monkeypox burst into our collective consciousness when it appeared in the United States in May.
In other ways, monkeypox resembles AIDS because it is transmitted through intimate contact — skin to skin or through sex. One recent study found large viral loads in semen, saliva and other bodily fluids from infected people. Like AIDS, it has so far disproportionately affected men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple partners.
