Fear of Getting Monkeypox: Most people in the US are getting increasingly worried about contacting Monkeypox in the future. There are a lot more questions coming up in their minds as the number of cases surge.
As per a new survey conducted where different questions were asked from a sample of 1,580 people, most of them were found to have fear of contacting monkeypox.
The survey answers most common questions like: How widespread is misinformation about monkeypox? Does the public possess a basic knowledge about monkeypox? How worried is the public about becoming infected with COVID-19 or monkeypox?
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Fear of Getting Monkeypox In US People
As per the survey conducted in the US amid coronavirus BA.5 omicron sub variant and the global spread of monkeypox, majority of people were found to have feared from getting monkeypox.
These people were also found to have read, seen or heard about monkeypox in the last month.
During the survey, it was also found that many of them lacked knowledge about the disease.
Take a look at the detail of the survey completed earlier:
- Two-thirds (66%) either are not sure or do not believe there is a vaccine for monkeypox
- Nearly half (48%) are unsure whether monkeypox is less contagious than COVID
- 30% of those surveyed are worried about getting COVID-19 over the next three months
- 19% of Americans are worried about getting monkeypox in the next three months
Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center stated that it is very crucial that people should know all the risks associated with the disease.
Fear of Getting Monkeypox
Monkeypox happens to be a rare disease caused by a virus called orthopoxvirus. The above virus is found to be less deadly as compared to the smallpox virus of the same family.
Monkeypox was first discovered in the year 1958 and as per CDC, it is contacted mainly through infected animals, touching already infected items, respiratory secretions, infectious rash, scabs, or body fluids, or by direct contact.
he present monkey pox outbreak has over 3000 cases reported in the US.
What the Survey Findings Say?
About 1 in 5 US people are found worried about contacting monkeypox. Among those, women found more worried as compared to men.
So, fear of getting monkeypox can be clearly seen in most people. The interesting part of this was most of them had minimal knowledge about how the disease spreads.
Monkeypox Knowledge
Although, most Americans already know about monkeypox, some lack crucial information about the disease. They are also not aware how to protect themselves from the infection.
The crucial part of the survey was that most of them were not aware that a vaccine against monkeypox already exists. Please know that Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has licensed a vaccine for preventing monkeypox infection.
In addition to the above, a vaccine against smallpox is also licensed by the FDA as well.
Also Read: Dr. Anthony Fauci Says Time to Take Monkeypox Seriously After Cases Spread In Majority of US States
Source: MedIndia.net
