Sexually active people in Melbourne’s south-east should look out for warning signs of mpox and take measures to protect themselves.
“This can be a sexually transmitted infection, so anyone who is sexually active can be at risk,” said the Director of the South East Public Health Unit Professor Rhonda Stuart.
“It is mainly diagnosed in men who have sex with men, but now we are seeing it in other people, including a handful of women and in heterosexual transmission. So people really need to be aware.”
More than a quarter of the 330 cases diagnosed in Victoria this year have been in people living in Melbourne’s south-east.
Mpox is a disease caused by the monkeypox virus. It’s mostly spread through prolonged physical or intimate (skin-to-skin) contact with someone who has mpox. Symptoms resemble sexually transmitted infections and can include a rash that can be painful and affect any part of the body.
Mpox can cause severe illness and leave long-term impacts, such as scarring. So far this year 27 people have been hospitalised.
“People who are sexually active and have any symptoms should get a test from their GP or at a sexual health clinic so they don’t spread it on to other people,” Professor Stuart said.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer recently released a Health Alert urging doctors to test patients with compatible symptoms for mpox.
Free mpox vaccines are available for eligible Victorians from vaccination providers across Victoria and in the south-east.
“It’s important to remember that vaccination prevents severe disease and, in some cases, it might prevent infection as well,” Professor Stuart said. “But it doesn’t stop all people becoming infected and so you are still at risk of getting the disease, even if you are vaccinated.”