Monkeypox: “Wrong place at the wrong time”

It started with a cough, but Covid tests were negative. At first, Winter didn’t think any further until he developed typical flu symptoms such as body aches and feeling weak. On the same day, itching suddenly appeared, and Winter discovered a “small circular wound” on his penis. It was an “absolute shock”. He is known for his notorious body hygiene, he showered the same day if everything was in order. Next to the wound, the entire limb appeared swollen and inflamed. “Panic and absolute confusion,” Winter wrote on Twitter.

“I was sure I had syphilis”
An internet search for the symptoms did not yield any clear results, the descriptions most closely matched syphilis. Anyway, Winter was sure it was an STD. Winter soon developed a high fever and severe headache, but he kept the itchy spots over pimples or bites. A week later, he was diagnosed with monkey pox.

The smallpox discovered in himself would be vastly different from the pictures on the Internet. Because they itch like mosquito bites, he also scratched them at first, which quickly caused the smallpox on his shoulder to become very inflamed. Winter therefore warns emphatically: “Don’t scratch, don’t press. Not even if you swore it was ‘just’ a pimple. Itching can be part of it, but it doesn’t have to be.”

“Virus takes what it can get”
He deals aggressively with the prejudice that homosexuals in particular are infected. “A virus is a virus. It takes what it can get and always chooses the path of least resistance,” he says. With frequently changing sex partners, the chance of contracting such an infectious disease is certainly greater, but in principle it has nothing to do with sexual orientation or gender.”You just have to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” emphasizes Alexander Winter.

He is gay and married and the only proven monkeypox positive man in his area. “It has also been proven that my husband does not have monkey pox. Everyone is in good health – and I’m actively making sure it stays that way,” emphasizes Alexander Winter in his Twitter thread. He was from the health department Sent into isolation for 12 days. Direct physical contact — not just during sex — is one of the most common ways of infection, but it’s not the only one. A smear is also possible. That’s why he disinfects everything he touches: door handles, chairs, dishes, towels.

Pathogens can stay on surfaces for a long time
He warns that one should pay particular attention to hygiene, for example in environments such as the gym. Because the viruses would stay on surfaces for a long time and would also jump around in a sweat. With his experience with the disease and how to manage it, Winter wants to help others better assess monkeypox.

Martial arts groups or kindergartens are also possible sources of infection
Renowned German science journalist Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim also explains monkey pox in a YouTube video (see below). There are many cases where men who have sex with men get sick. However, this correlation does not necessarily imply a direct relationship. Other sources of infection include martial arts groups, changing sweaty jerseys after a football game, or kindergartens.

“Don’t underestimate monkey pox”
As for rapid spread, Nguyen-Kim reassures. There are currently no signs that monkey pox, like Corona, could become a pandemic. Because this disease “is known, it spreads more slowly, through close physical contact and there are already vaccinations and medicines”. However, they should not be underestimated: “With every infection you give the virus the chance to mutate,” explains the science journalist.

The conventional smallpox vaccine may also protect against monkeypox. It has already been officially approved for such an application in the US, and it could very soon be in Europe as well. The vaccine has one advantage: it can also protect after infection if you are vaccinated within the incubation period. Moreover, even a nationwide vaccination is not necessary, explains Ngyuen-Kim in her video. So-called ring vaccinations were sufficient, in which only the contacts of an infected person are vaccinated.