Lessons Not Learned: Monkeypox Is Becoming Another Corporate Media "Epic Fail"
The "Experts" And The Media Once Again Fail To Ask Important Questions
Once again, the corporate media have managed to miss the journalism mark completely.
By now so much has been written about the Pandemic Panic Narrative and corporate media’s shameful role in spreading that tawdry bit of propaganda that it is easy to forget how derelict the corporate media was in its initial reporting of the COVID-19 pandemic during January of 2020. But for alternative media sites and a few second-tier publications, the initial days of the Wuhan outbreak might have received no coverage at all—it was quite literally ignored by the corporate media for over a week*.
Now the corporate media is failing to report competently on the global outbreak of monkeypox. Vital questions are being overlooked and ignored—and as with any major outbreak of serious disease, any lack of information can have significant consequences.
Where Did This Virus Originate?
As I pointed out in my previous discussion of this outbreak, so far all sequenced samples cultured from patients have been of the West African clade (strain) of the virus, rather than the more virulent Congo Basin clade.
Beginning around 13 May 2022, cases of monkeypox infection have been reported to the WHO from countries outside the region in Africa where the disease is known to be endemic, and with no established travel links to that region. As of 21 May, all confirmed cases of monkeypox within this current outbreak have been identified as belonging to the less severe West African clade, which has a mortality rate of around 1% (the Central African clade has a mortality rate of 10%).
Yet this somewhat comforting fact—the West African clade is far less lethal than the Congo Basin clade—obscures an important question: where did this outbreak begin?
There are some key points that deserve emphasis here:
Between the two clades the known endemic geographic region for monkeypox is western and central Africa. Yet according to the WHO’s latest Disease Outbreak New bulletin, none of the documented monkeypox cases within this outbreak have known travel links to that part of Africa.
Early genomic sequencing suggests at least some of the cases are tied to the same genomic lineage that was identified during an outbreak of monkeypox in Nigeria in 2017-2018. This outbreak was notable as it was an instance of monkeypox infections being exported beyond Africa (in that case, to the UK, Israel and Singapore).
The WHO Disease Outbreak News bulletin identifies four African nations with recent monkeypox cases, including Nigeria. To date, there has been no evidence linking these outbreaks to the current global outbreak.
Has the monkeypox virus found a reservoir host outside of the currently known endemic region, expanding the parts of the globe where it is endemic?
Not only does answering this question have direct impact on mitigation strategies for the current outbreak, but also on the frequency and distribution of future outbreaks.
There is a distinct possibility monkeypox is no longer confined to West Africa and the Congo Basin, yet the corporate media has yet to explore this possibility.
How Has Monkeypox Spread So Far So Fast?
Related to the question of origin is the disturbingly fast spread of the virus quite literally around the globe. As of this writing, the only continent not reporting at least a suspected case of monkeypox is Asia.
Moreover, at the time of my first article on this topic—which was just four days ago—there were 109 confirmed cases of monkeypox attributed to this global outbreak. According to the BNO News Monkeypox tracker, there are as of this writing 338 confirmed cases of monkeypox, 5 probable cases, and 93 suspected cases—a tripling of confirmed cases in just 4 days.
The rapid spread of the virus appears to have been replicated within the US as well. As of May 23 the BNO Monkeypox Tracker showed 2 confirmed cases in the US, and by May 26 the CDC was reporting cases in seven states.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a news briefing that the nine cases have been identified in Massachusetts, Florida, Utah, Washington, California, Virginia and New York.
Just two days prior, on May 24, the media reported one confirmed positive case and one presumptive positive case in the US.
There is one confirmed positive case in Massachusetts. There is one presumptive positive case in New York, one in Washington state, two in Utah and two in Florida.
Also on May 26, Colorado separately reported a presumptive positive case, linked to travel to and from Canada.
The presumptive case is from a young man who sought care at Denver Health and who acquired the virus during a recent trip to Canada, which is one of more than a dozen countries currently experiencing an outbreak of this virus.
These numbers are significant because the largest outbreak in Nigeria to date was the 2017-2018 outbreak, in which 122 cases were identified and confirmed.
122 confirmed or probable cases of human monkeypox were recorded in 17 states, including seven deaths (case fatality rate 6%). People infected with monkeypox virus were aged between 2 days and 50 years (median 29 years [IQR 14]), and 84 (69%) were male. All 122 patients had vesiculopustular rash, and fever, pruritus, headache, and lymphadenopathy were also common. The rash affected all parts of the body, with the face being most affected. The distribution of cases and contacts suggested both primary zoonotic and secondary human-to-human transmission. Two cases of health-care-associated infection were recorded. Genomic analysis suggested multiple introductions of the virus and a single introduction along with human-to-human transmission in a prison facility.
The current global outbreak has more than 3x that number of cases over a span of just a few weeks. Also, that outbreak featured primarily zoonotic (animal-to-human) transmission, while the current global outbreak appears to be (and is reported as being) entirely driven by human-to-human transmission.
Has the virus itself undergone a mutation to make it more transmissible among humans? While various medical experts acknowledge the possibility—and the need to answer that question—the CDC has taken the position that there is no evidence of such a mutation:
With seven people in the U.S. now confirmed or presumed to have monkeypox, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the risk remains low and there's no evidence the virus has evolved to be more transmissible.
Frankly, the CDC’s statement is ludicrous. While genomic analysis and sequencing have yet to be reported for the vast majority of the reported cases, 338 confirmed cases in 20 countries on 4 continents in the span of roughly two weeks is evidence of a fair bit of transmission. The high case count and unprecedented geographic spread of the virus is epidemiological evidence which suggests the virus is now more transmissible. It certainly is being transmitted more—common sense says it would be a good idea to find out why that is. If the virus itself has not changed, what is driving the current pace of infection?
Has Monkeypox Become A Sexually Transmitted Disease?
By far the most curious feature of the current global outbreak is the reported prevalence of cases among gay or bisexual men, according to the WHO Disease Outbreak News bulletins:
Reported cases thus far have no established travel links to an endemic area. Based on currently available information, cases have mainly but not exclusively been identified amongst men who have sex with men (MSM) seeking care in primary care and sexual health clinics.
For its part, the CDC has seen fit to include sexual behavior among its guidelines on whom should seek treatment for monkeypox.
People who may have symptoms of monkeypox should contact their healthcare provider. This includes anyone who:
traveled to central or west African countries, parts of Europe where monkeypox cases have been reported, or other areas with confirmed cases of monkeypox during the month before their symptoms began,
reports contact with a person with confirmed or suspected monkeypox, or
is a man who regularly has close or intimate contact with other men, including men who meet partners through an online website, digital application (“app”), or at a bar or party.
The concentration of cases among gay and bisexual men (“men who have sex with men” is apparently the current euphemism regarding sexual orientation), the corporate media shows little interest in this aspect of the outbreak other than noting the statistical reality of the concentration while simultaneously virtue-signalling that “monkeypox is not a ‘gay’ disease”.
The world also needs to know monkeypox is not a sexually-transmitted infection, Seale added.
“You can get a cough or cold through sexual contact, but that doesn’t mean it’s a sexually-transmitted disease. Typically, you need an exchange of vaginal fluids or semen that has an element of contagion to it to transmit the disease,” he said.
“The difference is that a sexually-transmitted infection is caused by sexual intercourse, anal intercourse, vaginal intercourse, or oral sex.”
The author of the Eugyppius Substack has by far the best assessment of the media’s handling of this aspect of the outbreak:
This is such stupid sophistry, I feel dumb even replying. Molluscum contagiosum is a classic STD that spreads via close skin contact; human papillomavirus exploits mucous membranes, just like monkeypox. STDs are just infections with a primarily sexual transmission vector, with or without the help of venereal fluids. Like … monkeypox right now.
It should also be noted that even the National Library of Medicine does not restrict the definition of a Sexually Transmitted Disease to one spread only through “sexual intercourse, anal intercourse, vaginal intercourse, or oral sex”.
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), or sexually transmitted infections (STIs), are infections that are passed from one person to another through sexual contact. The contact is usually vaginal, oral, or anal sex. But sometimes they can spread through other intimate physical contact. This is because some STDs, like herpes and HPV, are spread by skin-to-skin contact.
As indelicate as questions of monkeypox potentially spreading by sexual contact might be, they must be asked—and ultimately answered. The statistical reality that the majority of reported cases are among gay and bisexual men. There have been reports linking at least some cases to “fetish” events such as Antwerp’s Darklands Festival.
Moreover, the 2017-2018 Nigerian outbreak to which this outbreak is presumptively related did not connect human-to-human transmission specifically with sexual behaviors or sexual orientation:
Of the 122 confirmed or probable cases, 36 (30%) had an epidemiological link with people with similar lesions before the onset of monkeypox. Of these 36 people, 12 (33%) were epidemiologically linked with a confirmed case. Seven (58%) of these 12 people shared a household or had intimate contact with a confirmed case, four (33%) were inmates in the same prison as a confimed case, and one was a health worker who treated a confirmed case. Dates of first contact and dates of disease onset were available for 12 cases. The time from first contact to disease onset ranged from 3 days to 34 days (mean 13 [SD 9]; median 9·5 days [IQR 11]). Clustering of cases was noted in households and in a prison facility, but we did not identify an epidemiological link between these clusters. The largest household cluster was in a household of six members, three of whom had confirmed monkeypox and three of whom had probable disease, which developed in a 27-day period. Among all confirmed cases, ten patients reported contact with animals (two with monkeys, two with rodents, two with unspecified wild animal [consumed as meat—ie, bush meat], and four with domestic animals). No one reportedcontact with sick or dead animals.
Monkeypox might not be a Sexually Transmitted Disease such as gonorrhea or syphilis, but the connection within this outbreak to sexual behaviors is a reported reality. It is enough of a reality that both the CDC and the WHO include sexual activity among their epidemiological criteria for a possible case of monkeypox.
Neither the media nor the medical community are performing any good service by avoiding uncomfortable and indelicate questions on how the virus is spreading. Effective personal preventions and public health mitigations cannot be established if there is not an accurate understanding of prevailing modes of transmission.
Where There Are Question, There Need To Be Answers
I cannot emphasize enough that what I have raised here are questions, questions for which I certainly do not have the answers.
I do not know who “Patient Zero” is for the current global outbreak of monkeypox, or whether he or she is from or traveled to Nigeria or West Africa. That is a question to which I for one would like an answer.
I do not know why the number of global cases outpaces the largest outbreak in Nigeria to date many times over. That is a question to which I for one would like an answer.
I do not know why there is a concentration of cases among gay and bisexual men. That is a question to which I for one would like an answer.
Nor do I know what other questions are going unasked that need to be answered. Only by answering questions can information be developed upon which effective protections and mitigations may be based. Only by understanding the how and the why of disease transmission in this current outbreak can people hope to defend themselves against the virus.
As with the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the corporate media once again is choosing not to ask meaningful and relevant questions. Once again, the alternative media is stepping up to fill that void.
What was necessary for people then is necessary for people now: they must ask their own questions, do their own research, gleaning facts from as many sources as possible,
This much has always been true: Be skeptical. Trust nothing. Verify everything.
*—When I first started commenting on the COVID-19 pandemic, much that is now common knowledge was not known at all. A good deal of what appeared to be the situation then has since been shown not to be so. That itself is an important object lesson here: in any significant event understandings will change as facts and data come to light. While we can only analyze with the data we have at hand, we should not be surprised to discover new data which can completely upend a prior analysis.
When the Coof outbreak was roughly at this stage, we were all asked to stay home, first for two weeks, which turned into six, in order to try to contain the outbreak.
So where are the calls now for MwhSwM to pause their promiscuity for a few weeks to try to contain this?