„It is transmitted during sexual acts between people of all gend­ers. It just so happ­ens to mostly have been diagnosed in men recently, and the source is in certain places in Europe where sex is liberal,“ says Þórólfur Guðnason, Chief Epidem­i­olog­ist for Iceland, reg­ar­ding the Monkey Pox, during last night’s news on Channel 2.

Two men have been diagnosed with the Monkey Pox in Iceland, one of whom has just ret­ur­ned from Europe. Neither man is seriously ill. They are known to be connected and are both liv­ing in the Reykja­vík metropolitan area.

Guðnason states that it is vital to be watchful of any symptoms. He also urges people not to engage in sexual acts with strangers.

„If people start to develop pimp­les or blisters on the skin; especially on the genitals or geni­tal area, they should quickly seek health care; at the unit for skin and sexu­ally transmitted decease in Land­spít­ali hospi­tal, or the outpatient unit for infectious deceases, and receive a diagnosis as soon as possi­ble.“

The Monkey Pox has up until now mostly been diagnosed in bisexual and gay men. LGBTQ+ associations are worried about an increase in prejudice aga­inst gay people, however, Guðnason claims the decease not to be connected to sexu­ality at all. It is not considered to be hig­hly contagious and has mostly been transmitted through sexual intercourse. It can also transmit by drop­lets from the airway, as well as by towels and sheets.

Guðnason says it is likely that more cases will be diagnosed in the coming days, though it is hard to say how many they might be. „That will depend on people’s behaviors and how successful we will be in tam­ing the spr­ead.“

This article was orig­inally publ­is­hed in Icelandic by Katrín Heiða Guð­jóns­dóttir.