The Monkeypox/HIV Connection

[+ Lucky]

Interesting article in the NY Times:

Nearly all Americans hospitalized for monkeypox infection had weakened immune systems, most often because of H.I.V. infection, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Wednesday.

Of 57 hospitalized patients described in the report, 82 percent had H.I.V. More than two-thirds of the patients were Black and nearly one-quarter were homeless, reflecting racial and economic inequities seen in the outbreak overall.

The finding suggests that although most cases of monkeypox are mild, doctors should test patients with suspected cases for H.I.V. as well, and be prepared to offer prompt treatment for both infections.

“Monkeypox and H.I.V. have collided with tragic effects,” Dr. Jonathan Mermin, the C.D.C.’s lead scientist on monkeypox, said in a statement.

Most of the patients in the study were given tecovirimat, or Tpoxx, but treatment for some patients was delayed by as long as four weeks after they first sought care.

As of Tuesday, more than 28,000 cases of monkeypox had been reported in the United States, and nearly 76,000 cases worldwide. A vast majority are still among men who have sex with men, according to the C.D.C.

The number of new monkeypox infections has declined steadily since September. But the number of high-risk people opting for vaccination has also dropped. Only 7 percent of the vaccine doses administered so far have gone to recipients who are Black.

People living with H.I.V. or with other conditions that weaken the immune system fared poorly in previous outbreaks of monkeypox in African countries.

In the new report, C.D.C. scientists analyzed case reports from 57 patients older than 18 who were hospitalized for monkeypox between Aug. 10 and Oct. 10. Roughly 95 percent of the patients were male.

All of them had skin rashes, and most also had severe lesions in the mouth, urethra, rectum or vagina. About one in five experienced symptoms in their lungs and eyes, and in four patients the brain and spinal cord were affected.

Four of the 47 patients with H.I.V. were taking drugs to suppress the virus before they were diagnosed with monkeypox. About one in three had a CD4 count — a proxy for the immune system’s strength — of less than 50, indicating severe immunosuppression.

Two of the patients, one of whom had H.I.V., were being treated for cancer; three were solid organ transplant recipients; and three were pregnant. All of these conditions are linked to a weakened immune system.

One third of the patients were admitted to intensive care units. Of the 12 recorded deaths, five were a result of complications from monkeypox infection, six are under investigation and one was determined to be unrelated.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/26/health/monkeypox-hiv.html

 

[pubic_assistance]

You'll find that attention to health care in the black community is statistically poor.

This is why there was also a parallel in Covid Deaths with being black.

The reasons are complicated because it's not just about access.

 

[NJF]

1 hour ago, pubic_assistance said:

You'll find that attention to health care in the black community is statistically poor.

This is why there was also a parallel in Covid Deaths with being black.

The reasons are complicated because it's not just about access.

 

That is certainly true. There was a former spokesman for U=U posting disturbing videos on instagram, going in and out of emergency rooms and essentially homeless. He shows signs of mental illness. It may come to a sad ending. 

[rawandorderguy]

On 10/30/2022 at 11:52 AM, pubic_assistance said:

You'll find that attention to health care in the black community is statistically poor.

This is why there was also a parallel in Covid Deaths with being black.

The reasons are complicated because it's not just about access.

 

Agreed but when it comes to Covid a sedentary lifestyle, obesity, and poverty in general had a lot of to do with its impact in some communities.

 

[pubic_assistance]

8 minutes ago, rawandorderguy said:

Agreed but when it comes to Covid a sedentary lifestyle, obesity, and poverty in general had a lot of to do with its impact in some communities.

 

Well considering 20% of the black community doesn't have a job..."sedentary" is not unfamiliar. People of all colors who don't work and live off food stamps are typically obese.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Vulgarii]

On 11/1/2022 at 5:59 PM, pubic_assistance said:

Well considering 20% of the black community doesn't have a job..."sedentary" is not unfamiliar. People of all colors who don't work and live off food stamps are typically obese.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do being fat/obese and being promiscuous and having STDs, have in common? 

 

Poor discernment and impulse control. It's not really the lack of access and sex ed. We all had sex ed in some form in school, and low income families have free clinics and plenty of free health services, and often even more if they are low income non-whites. I'm tired of seeing racism and the lack of access as being the go-to excuses for the higher rates of STDs among my fellow gay men of color.

Wth COVID it's interesting and a little more complicated to look at, but how is it possible that a large portion of the black population is unemployed and they were told to stay home, had nothing else to do since they didn't work, and they still caught COVID or suffered more than other groups? They just didn't do what they were told.

 

We also had that whole 2020 summer of rioting and youths congregating in large groups, and what a surprise, they brought it home to mom and grandma.

Edited November 16, 2022 by Vulgarii
Typos

[Guest slvkguy]

this is a complex issue and way more nuanced - in many communities of color, there are “food deserts”, where supermarkets are uncommon but filled with fast outlets.  Good fresh food can be hard to find.  The poor diets due to lack of access lead to obesity, diabetes & other maladies that were underlying conditions in Covid leading to more severe outcomes.
Re: Monkeypox..I was in NYC when the vaccines were disproportionately distributed to white people and even in black neighborhood vaccine sites, the white people had the appointments to get the limited vaccines. Very strange indeed.

if you have any doubt - there was a Monkeypox vaccine site set up in Fire Island Pines which is almost exclusively rich white young gays from the city. I went there for years & I know exactly who was out there. 

Health care access is not the same for whites & POC…..not by a long shot. Nor is access to good affordable healthy food. Same w vaccines.  TBH - the odds are entirely stacked against POC. 

[pubic_assistance]

10 hours ago, slvkguy said:

The poor diets due to lack of access lead to obesity, diabetes & other maladies

This "lack of access argument" is old and tired.  There is a very low margin of profit in running a grocery in a poor neighborhood.

Fresh foods, when provided, are often overlooked in favor of easy to cook foods.

So the margin of loss by providing fresh foods, that sit on the shelf and rot, is too disproportionately high to be bothered.

You already have a tremendous amount of loss from theft. There is no incentive to increase loss by displaying foods, that expire quickly. So maybe if poor people didn't feel the need to steal food, they might have better choices.

SNAP programs could easily be modified to provide access to fresh foods, if there was an incentive. But instead you find grocery carts heaped up with hot pockets and beer.

 

Edited November 16, 2022 by pubic_assistance
spelling

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

5 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

16 hours ago, slvkguy said:

The poor diets due to lack of access lead to obesity, diabetes & other maladies

This "lack of access argument" is old and tired.  There is a very low margin of profit in running a grocery in a poor neighborhood.

Fresh foods, when provided, are often overlooked in favor of easy to cook foods.

Agree 💯.  Studies have shown that it is "food swamps", not "food deserts", that have greater impact on health in poor neighborhoods.  It's not that residents have too little access to fresh healthy food; but, they have too MUCH access to convenient pre-made food.

https://today.uconn.edu/2017/11/food-swamps-predict-obesity-rates-better-food-deserts/#:~:text=A new study by the Rudd Center for,access to affordable%2C nutritious food%2C or food desert.

Self control and moderation and a long-term view is needed to walk past the tasty yet unhealthy and expensive convenience foods and buy the more affordable and healthy food staples that can be prepared at home.

Back to the topic of monkeypox/HIV, in my community the monkeypox vaccine is only offered at two locations, both are in low income areas and near people with color.  My experience at both locations has been that mostly men of little color showed up for the monkeypox vaccine, despite the average person in the neighborhood outside the vaccine locations having more color.  You can lead a person to water, so to speak

Edited November 16, 2022 by Vegas_nw1982

[Luv2play]

The WHO has now recommended that Monkeypox be renamed Mpox. It asserted that the name originally given it was no longer suitable as the virus at least worlwide now was spread by people, not animals to people and that the name gave rise to racist attitudes and steotypes. 

Interestingly, to bolster their arguments, it was pointed put that photos of victims portrayed in the media were Black and that its was mostly whites who were the victims in Europe and North America.

 

 

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

20 minutes ago, Luv2play said:

Interestingly, to bolster their arguments, it was pointed put that photos of victims portrayed in the media were Black and that its was mostly whites who were the victims in Europe and North America.

In the USA, men of black ethnicity were the highest victims of monkeypox.  In some weeks they were the largest group by sheer numbers, but certainly in all weeks they had the highest rate of monkeypox infection when adjusted for their percentage of population (for example, 26% of total infections but only represent 12% of the total population).

https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/demographics.html

I have noticed a similar trend in advertisements for HIV Prep in the USA.  A recent television commercial for the HIV Prep injection shows about 18 people: 16 men, 2 women.  13 black, 3 brown, 2 white.

Edited November 28, 2022 by Vegas_nw1982

[Marc in Calif]

On 10/30/2022 at 8:52 AM, pubic_assistance said:

You'll find that attention to health care in the black community is statistically poor.

Can you please explain precisely what you mean by "attention to health care"? Whose attention?

[mike carey]

Moderator's Note

Please stick to discussion about the links between the incidence of mpox with HIV, not to passing judgment on people with either or both infections. Factual statements are fine, attributing 'blame' to elements of the community is not.

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

It makes sense that the most socially/sexually popular individuals are the most likely to be exposed to monkeypox and also HIV, so it makes sense that there's a relationship between the two, not necessarily cause and effect.