<
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/sex-bubbles-why-victorians-should-keep-a-list-of-their-sex-partners-20240717-p5jugz.html>
"The state’s chief health officer is urging Victorians to create “sex bubbles”
and maintain contact details of all their sexual partners to curb an outbreak
of mpox.
Victoria is in the grip of its largest mpox outbreak, one in which 76 cases
have been detected over the past three months, compared with just eight cases
for all of 2023.
“One of our key messages to communities is to maintain contact details of
sexual partners because that helps us facilitate contact tracing,” Chief Health
Officer Dr Clare Looker said.
Looker said creating a “sex bubble” – an idea that emerged during the COVID
pandemic and involves limiting the number of sexual partners to a small group –
was another effective strategy alongside vaccination.
“Whether it’s a sexual bubble, or perhaps just lying low a little bit in the
colder months, [we support] whatever way works.”
Unlike the previous mpox outbreak in 2022, which peaked at 70 cases and was
mainly linked to returned travellers, the current outbreak has been
predominantly fuelled by local transmission.
The disease spreads through close physical contact, and in Victoria, it has
mostly affected men who have sex with other men. But Looker said it had also
been detected in small numbers of people outside this group.
Mpox, caused by the monkeypox virus, is related to smallpox and often
characterised by a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever.
In May, Australia recorded the fourth-highest number of mpox cases in the
world, behind the more densely populated Democratic Republic of Congo, United
States and Spain, according to the World Health Organisation."
Via
Guardian Australia.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
