Attaching a stigma to the LGBTQI plus community should be avoided during the monkeypox epidemic

Abstract

Dear Editor,An outbreak of monkeypox, a rare zoonotic disease caused by anorthopoxvirus, is currently ongoing and has spread so far to morethan 20 countries, mostly affecting Europe, the Americas, Australia,and Israel, with more than 400 confirmed cases (https://bnonews.com/monkeypox/), becoming the largest monkeypox epidemicoutside of western and central Africa, where it is endemic in elevencountries.1In the UK, where the first monkeypox case was reportedon May 7, 2022, in a traveler returning from Nigeria, the National“Health Security Agency”(UKHSA) has reported that“a notableproportion of early cases detected have been in gay and bisexual menand so UKHSA is urging this community in particular to be alert”