Clarifications are in order. After fresh evidence revealed that monkeypox, recently declared as a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO), was largely prevalent among the gay and bisexual population, there has been a growing fear within the queer community that they could face a repeat of the discrimination they experienced during the HIV/AIDS crisis back in the 1980s.

One of the more alarming studies appeared in the latest issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, which revealed that at least 98 per cent of the 528 monkeypox infection cases analysed included gay or bisexual men. The paper authored by a group of more than 30 clinicians, who contributed to an international case series to describe the presentation, clinical course, and outcomes of polymerase-chain-reactions, indicated that a sexual relationship between men could be a possible reason behind the spread.