Key Points
- Australia has recorded more than double the number of mpox cases than during the last outbreak in 2022.
- The outbreak in Australia is less severe than the type that is causing serious illness and deaths in Central Africa.
- Sexual transmission is primarily how mpox is spread in Australia, and LGBTIQ+ people are most at risk.
A "genuinely traumatising" experience is how Melbourne man, Jack, described his six-week ordeal with mpox.
In June, after having sex at some King's Birthday weekend dance parties in Melbourne, the 35-year-old noticed some sensitivity in his rectum and decided to have a sexual health screen.
"It was pretty bad. I say nine out of 10 and I really mean nine out of 10. It wasn't like I was screaming but it got to the point, before I went to the emergency department, that I was on the floor in agony," he said.
LISTEN TO
Jack got mpox. He was in pain for six weeks
SBS News
28/08/202406:21
Early attempts to control the pain didn't work, and doctors prescribed Jack a large range of drugs, including opiates, anti-virals and nerve pain medication.
"I was on six times the dose I was on when I started, and that's when it finally started to have an effect. I have a photo of the amount of drugs that I was on when I left and it's like a whole bucket of different things," he added.
What surprised Jack was how long his symptoms lingered: "This pain lasted for six weeks. It was a really long slog."
Sexual health doctor Tom Morley from Thorne Harbour Health says Jack's case is out of the ordinary. Source: SBS News
"That person is very unlucky. The majority of people we're seeing are probably sitting somewhere in the three-week mark, starting out with some systemic features like a headache, fever, muscle ache followed on sometimes by the typical skin rash," he said.
Australia has recorded 353 cases this year as of 29 August, more than double the number during the last outbreak in 2022 when there were 144 cases.
The outbreak in Australia is less severe than the type that is .
Morley said sexual transmission is primarily how mpox is being spread in Australia and LGBTIQ+ people are most at risk.
He said a two-dose mpox vaccination remains the best defence against getting a severe case.
"We see lots of people who have just had one vaccination, lots of people who have had both vaccinations, still presenting with symptoms but much less severe than had they not had the vaccinations," he said.
A lot of the people we're seeing now just have a few skin lesions or a little STI symptom that they wouldn't have necessarily even attributed to mpox."
Public health outreach has taken place at various venues, including Wet on Wellington in Collingwood.
The sex-on-premises venue caters for all genders but when it first opened more than 20 years ago, it was exclusively for men who have sex with other men.
Sex-on-premises venue Wet on Wellington has put up mpox warning signs and conducted on-site testing and vaccination clinics. Source: Supplied
He said after two meetings with the Victorian Department of Health this year, it had followed suit.
"We formulated a plan to put the posters up and to mitigate the problem. I think the government needs to throw more money at it to start with to the likes of Thorne Harbour Health because they're the main people who are driving it," he said.
One of the mpox warning signs inside Wet on Wellington. Source: SBS News
After his six-week ordeal with mpox, Jack, who is in a long-term, same-sex relationship, said he had no appetite for casual sex.
He urged people to seriously consider the advice from the health authorities.
"I think it is kind of scary and if that's the way it's transmitted, then I think it's kind of responsible to just be aware of some of that stuff and be conscious of what you're doing," he said.
"Of course, be double-vaccinated, that's step one. I got it while I was double-vaccinated but who knows how much worse it could have been if I wasn't vaccinated, just like COVID."
