During last summer’s monkeypox (mpox) outbreak, medical professionals on Twitter were four times more likely to exaggerate the risk of the viral disease spreading among children than share accurate information, a new study suggests.
Mpox is spread through intimate skin contact, including sex, kissing, and sharing bedding or clothing. Data from the United States and several other countries indicated that it predominantly affects men who have sex with men—a pattern that emerged early on and continued throughout the 2022 outbreak. No evidence suggests that schools are a high-risk environment for mpox transmission or that children are a high-risk population for infection.
