What The Pox? - Investigating the Mpox (monkeypox) outbreak – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of What The Pox?, host Martin Joseph explores the resurgence of news about MPOX in 2024 after it is once again declared a global health emergency by the WHO in August 2024.

The episode unpacks the spread of the more dangerous Clade 1B virus, which is killing hundreds of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and its wider impact in Central and West Africa. We ask if a global north spread of the new strain will happen, and what the global response must be to this emergency.

This episode's guests are:

• Dr Marc-Alain Widdowson - WHO Lead, Infectious Hazard Management
• Dr Catherine Smallwood - WHO Europe
• Dr Chloe Orkin - British physician and Professor of HIV/AIDS medicine at Queen Mary University of London
• Quasar Siddiqui - Vaccine Coordinator at The Love Tank

Enjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:

• Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletter
• Listen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ stories
• Listen to our documentary on the history of PrEP and it's impact on the way queer communities have sex - The Other Blue Pill
• Instagram - @WeAreQueerAF_
• Twitter - @WeAreQueerAF
• Read our mission

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"I’ve been taking PrEP for almost 7 years now. During that time, I’ve been crazy enthusiastic about making positive changes to reduce health inequalities. But I have seen how queer health has been mishandled time and time again - most recently, MPOX is the perfect example"

So today, Phil Samba is here to help us all discover the untold story behind PrEP, the revolutionary pill that's transforming HIV prevention and sexual health.

In the first episode of QueerAF's new six-part limited series documentary, we dive into the battle for PrEP access in the UK by not only looking at the court case fought here in England for the drug - but the advent of HIV and AIDS in the 80s.

Did you know we knew PrEP was effective from the early 2000s? Why did it take until 2020 to get it on the NHS you ask?

Join host Phil Samba as he uncovers the legal struggles, the historic activism, and the groundbreaking moments that made PrEP a reality. From the early days of HIV awareness to the modern fight for equitable healthcare, this is the compelling journey of The Other Blue Pill.

This week, we understand the past of this HIV game-changer, so in the first episode of a series about the the present, and future of The Other Blue Pill.

Hosted by Phil Samba, it is a QueerAF production for The Love Tank, supported by National Aids Trust.

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-other-blue-pill/id1744532072
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kOezXQXHp4ZnVXJLzBaZe?si=bf88e76133ee4da2
• QueerAF: https://www.wearequeeraf.com/theotherbluepill/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mpox (monkeypox) - when I was super sick, in pain and feeling really under the weather - wasn't even the worst part. It was telling people. I couldn't put my finger on why, though.

I knew in my rational brain that I had done nothing wrong. But I couldn't shake this feeling. For the longest time - I couldn't figure it out. And then it hit me.

I grew up in the 90s, in the shadow of HIV, hearing all the awful things the newspapers and people had to say about the virus and gay sex. The shame I was feeling wasn't because I'd done that affected me, but that I'd let down others. That I'd given ammo to every homophobe about the stereotypes around LGBTQIA+ people - specifically gay men.

When I started to produce this series, I was nervous. Not because I was talking about myself, or the condition or even that I would be discussing sex. But because of the shame I’d internalised from the world around me because of the stigma placed upon us.

Internalized queer shame is something so many of us have picked up, and Monkeypox is just another reminder - so join us as we find out just what the pox can we do about it.

This week's guests are:

Matthew Todd - Author of Straight Jacket, former Attitude editor

Conor Macis - PHD student and Uni of Bristol teacher who shares his monkeypox journey

Liam Beattie - Trades Union campaigner, former Terrance Higgins Trust staffer

Marc Thompson - Co-founder of Prepster

Listen to understand:

Why the shame and stigma with HIV, feels so familiar to monkeypox - and what we can do about it

How we internalise shame from the stigma put on us by the world - plus how we can combat it

Why the norms of a heterosexual world, doesn't have to be what we strive for as we carve out a queer way to live#

My other QueerAF episodes:

• Around eating disorders
• On being single, happy and coming to terms with my sex life

Visit wearequeeraf.com/whatthepox to support the show and listen ad-free

Enjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:

• Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletter
• Listen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ stories
• Instagram - @WeAreQueerAF_
• Twitter - @WeAreQueerAF
• Read our mission

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mpox (monkeypox) - about four days into isolating with it - I got some pretty intense pain. After spending 24 hours in agony - I called 111 for help.

They got me an emergency appointment, and I had to cover up my legions and wear a mask. Reasonable requests. But the response I got was less so. I was greeted with what could only be described as panic.

Staff used hushed tones, and a doctor in full PPE made me talk to him on the phone, through the door. After being asked if I was gay and how did I catch it - without examining me, they put me in an Ambulance. Eventually, at the A&E - they worked out that Monkeypox had caused an infection which needed antibiotics.

I’ve heard similar from other people who’ve suffered. And it's of no fault of the incredible staff who were, at the end of the day, just trying to help me.

Join us to hear what has the response been and why these doctors were running around trying to work out just What The Pox was going on? This week's guests are:

- Marc Thompson - Co-founder of Prepster

- Will Nutall - Co-founder of The Love Tank CIC

- Shivani Dave - Physicist, broadcaster and producer

- Sarah Mulindwa - TV personality and sexual health nurse, 56 Dean Street

Listen to understand:

- Why some doctors and nurses have had to scramble as they help and support patients with monkeypox

- How sexual health is funded in the UK, and what that means for the service you receive

- What we as the LGBTQIA+ community can do to change the way we talk about monkeypox

Visit wearequeeraf.com/whatthepox to support the show and listen ad-free

Enjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:

• Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletter
• Listen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ stories
• Instagram - @WeAreQueerAF_
• Twitter - @WeAreQueerAF
• Read our mission

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I still have a lot of questions about Mpox (Monkeypox). And I've literally made a whole podcast about it.

I remember sitting in the doctor's surgery not long after catching it, wanting to know: What treatment is available? How long will this part last?

Then after I recovered, why wasn't I automatically eligible for the vaccine - am I immune? So I put these questions to the experts and doctors who've been tirelessly to track this outbreak, the changing symptoms and help all of us manage it.

Join us to determine what the science tells us about What The Pox is going on? This week's guests are:

Dr Chole Orkin - British physician and Professor of HIV/AIDS medicine at Queen Mary University of London

Susan Cole - Community engagement, NAM AIDSmap

Joseph Osmundson - American biophysicist and writer

Tri Vo - NYC based graphic designer and illustrator

Listen to understand:

How one doctor worked out that Mpox has changed and re-wrote the symptoms list

The key info about the virology behind transmission - and what this tells us about why more people are catching it

How it's spreading, what we know about immunity, and how effective the vaccines are 

Visit wearequeeraf.com/whatthepox to support the show and listen ad-free

Enjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:

• Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletter
• Listen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ stories
• Instagram - @WeAreQueerAF_
• Twitter - @WeAreQueerAF
• Read our mission

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mpox (Monkeypox). That’s what we are here to talk about. And this episode is everything I needed to hear when I first caught the virus.

Quite a lot of people have got it or had it at this point. I’m one of them. In early July this year, I had monkeypox… and it was not fun. When I was alone at home, with monkeypox - in all kinds of pain. I was desperate for information.

I googled "how long will this last" and searched "is it meant to feel like this?" But there was such little official advice. Classic. So I got talking to people instead.

And I realized something. It’s super queer to create something because the official people haven’t. So this is it. With experts, people with experience and all done without shame and stigma.

Join us to work out What The Pox is going on? This week's guests are:

Matt Ford - Actor, writer and singer based in LA

Sarah Mullindwa - TV personality and sexual health nurse, 56 Dean Street

Susan Cole - Community engagement, NAM AIDSmap

Matthew Todd - Author ‘Straight Jacket', former Attitude editor

Listen to understand:

Everything you need to know if you've just caught Monkeypox

The key info about the virus, its symptoms and why it's spreading

A brief history of Monkeypox, that's been endemic in Africa for decades

Resources:

Matt Ford's (essential reading) Google Doc for if you've just caught the virus

Matthew Todd's Straight Jacket, for reading about gay shame and internalized homophobia

Visit wearequeeraf.com/whatthepox to support the show

Enjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:

• Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletter
• Listen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ stories
• Instagram - @WeAreQueerAF_
• Twitter - @WeAreQueerAF
• Read our mission

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Monkeypox. That’s what we’re here to talk about. Quite a lot of people have got it or had it at this point. I’m one of them. And it was not fun. 

When I was home alone with Monkeypox in all kinds of pain, Feeling scared and alone I had very little information. So I went online to find help. 

And guess what - there wasn’t much official advice. But I did start talking to all kinds of people: experts, people who’ve had the virus, And to those who see this outbreak, as part of a much bigger picture.

Monkeypox is spreading worldwide- and for many of us queer people, the response feels a bit too familiar…You see History rarely repeats. But it often rhymes. 

This podcast is basically all things a needed to hear when at the time. It’s for anyone who has or had Monkeypox - plus anyone who is queer, or cares about LGBTQIA+ people, or is just worried about this outbreak. So yeah, it’s kind of for everyone. 

Because although Monkeypox isn’t a 'gay and bi men’s' disease; for now it's predominantly affecting sexually active men who have sex with men. That’s because of the way it spreads, mostly through sexual contact. And well, everyone can have sex. That’s why it’s important that everyone understands how it's moving between people. Listen to understand:

•  Why we're feeling shame and stigma
• The parallels with the HIV outbreak in the 80s
• The broader queerness at play

And I’ll let you in on a secret - we have the tools to manage this outbreak, we’ve just got to use them

So join us for this rapid response series from QueerAF and me, Martin Joseph as we try to work out - just What The Pox? is going on.

Tune in every Wednesday for leading Monkeypox experts, sexual health superstars, and real people talking about Monkeypox without shame or stigma. 

Or head to wearequeeraf.com/whatthepox to get early access to episodes as soon as they’re ready. 

We Are QueerAF, and so are you. 

Enjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:

• Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletter
• Listen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ stories
• Instagram - @WeAreQueerAF_
• Twitter - @WeAreQueerAF
• Read our mission

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s been quite a year since we last spoke to you.

But since we have, as many of the experts we talked to predicted, pockets of outbreaks that have the potential to spread epidemically have started to pop up again.

We’ve also seen Monkeypox get renamed to MPOX to combat stigma and racist stereotypes connected to the virus. 

As we mark a year since the UK outbreak peaked, we wanted to check in and ask what we know now. Has it gone away? Will it come back? And when it comes to diseases that impact marginalised communities, what lessons have we learned?

This week's guests are:

• Will Nutland - Co-founder of The Love Tank CIC
• Dr Chole Orkin - British physician and Professor of HIV/AIDS medicine at Queen Mary University of London
• Dr Richard Peabody - WHO lead of high-threat pathogen team

• How MPOX is spreading asymptomatically, and what this means for the spread.
• Why people with HIV and low CD4 counts are dying, as experts call for MPOX to be classified as an AIDS-related disease.
• New information on vaccines' effectiveness and whether you can get reinfected - early signs showing a mutation means this is now possible.

Enjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:

• Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletter
• Listen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ stories
• Instagram - @WeAreQueerAF_
• Twitter - @WeAreQueerAF
• Read our mission

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Countries are struggling, vaccines are scarce and mpox (monkeypox) is at risk of becoming endemic in many countries.

In the final episode of this documentary, we find out what actions need to be taken at a global scale to get the outbreak under control.

This virus became endemic in some countries after we first saw it in the 1970s, and we have not done much about it. That bears repeating, for over 50 years - people have been struggling with it, in Central and Eastern Africa - and even now, when it’s spreading around the world - the action is limited.

The most frustrating thing for people with experience and experts is we have the tools to fix this. But only if we work worldwide to prevent future pandemics, if governments step up, and if we change our attitudes to queer sex.

Can we end the outbreak and prevent future ones - let's work out What The Pox? is going on. 

Resources:

• Ask your GP for a referral to the PLATINUM trial if you've caught or had monkeypox
• Campaign calling on the UK to do more from THT, NAT and Prepster - Write to your MP tool

This week's guests are:

• Eolan Mcfadden - Frontline Aids,
• Dr Jose Hidalgo - Infectious disease physician with Via Libre, Peru
• Dr Richard Peabody - WHO lead of high-threat pathogen team

Listen to understand:

• Why countries like Peru are only just seeing their peaks and struggling to respond without global help
• How globally connected response to infectious diseases is the only way to end this monkeypox outbreak
• The pandemic preparedness work that the UN, WHO and HIV organisations are taking part in, to try and prevent future pandemics

Enjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:

• Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletter
• Listen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ stories
• Instagram - @WeAreQueerAF_
• Twitter - @WeAreQueerAF
• Read our mission

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sex. Some people aren’t just doing it - they’re really doing it.

But, like with anything fun - safety comes first. We’ve got to be aware of sexually transmitted infections.

Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted infection, but this current outbreak is being transmitted sexually. And when it comes to infections that are passed on sexually, there is an added level of stigma.

It’s clear that when STIs impact sexually active folk in the LGBTQIA+ community - it’s worse. Why is that? What is it about queer sex that creates this furore. It's just sex?

So let's talk about sex and work out just What The Pox? is going on.

This week's guests are:

• Jason Domino - Porn4Prep founder and sex worker advocate
• Joseph Osmundson - American biophysicist and writer
• Harun Talunay - Sexual health expert with lived experience of monkeypox
• Topher Taylor - Award-winning pleasure expert and queer columnist

Listen to understand:

• What sex on site venues do to empower people to have better knowledge of their sexual health
• Why monkeypox could impact sex workers for months if they get the virus
• How shame and stigma can be worse when talking about queer sex, and what to do about it

Enjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:

• Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletter
• Listen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ stories
• Instagram - @WeAreQueerAF_
• Twitter - @WeAreQueerAF
• Read our mission

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.