Jack is one of the Australians who've contracted mpox. It was 'traumatising'

The Melbourne man contracted mpox after having sex at dance parties he attended, and says he was in pain for six weeks.

A silhouette of a person coughing, with computer-generated imagery of bacteria in the background.

Australia has recorded 353 cases of mpox this year. Source: SBS News

Key Points
  • Australia has recorded more than double the number of mpox cases than during the last outbreak in 2022.
  • The outbreak in Australia is less severe than the type that is causing serious illness and deaths in Central Africa.
  • Sexual transmission is primarily how mpox is spread in Australia, and LGBTIQ+ people are most at risk.
A "genuinely traumatising" experience is how Melbourne man, Jack, described his six-week ordeal with mpox.

In June, after having sex at some King's Birthday weekend dance parties in Melbourne, the 35-year-old noticed some sensitivity in his rectum and decided to have a sexual health screen.

Within a few days of getting symptoms, he was diagnosed and endured excruciating pain.

"It was pretty bad. I say nine out of 10 and I really mean nine out of 10. It wasn't like I was screaming but it got to the point, before I went to the emergency department, that I was on the floor in agony," he said.
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Jack got mpox. He was in pain for six weeks  image

Jack got mpox. He was in pain for six weeks

SBS News

28/08/202406:21
Early attempts to control the pain didn't work, and doctors prescribed Jack a large range of drugs, including opiates, anti-virals and nerve pain medication.

"I was on six times the dose I was on when I started, and that's when it finally started to have an effect. I have a photo of the amount of drugs that I was on when I left and it's like a whole bucket of different things," he added.

What surprised Jack was how long his symptoms lingered: "This pain lasted for six weeks. It was a really long slog."
A photo of a sexual health doctor in his consultation room
Sexual health doctor Tom Morley from Thorne Harbour Health says Jack's case is out of the ordinary. Source: SBS News
Dr Tom Morley from Thorne Harbour Health in Melbourne said symptoms usually last two to three weeks, describing Jack's case as out of the ordinary.

"That person is very unlucky. The majority of people we're seeing are probably sitting somewhere in the three-week mark, starting out with some systemic features like a headache, fever, muscle ache followed on sometimes by the typical skin rash," he said.

Australia has recorded 353 cases this year as of 29 August, more than double the number during the last outbreak in 2022 when there were 144 cases.
The outbreak in Australia is less severe than the type that is .

Morley said sexual transmission is primarily how mpox is being spread in Australia and LGBTIQ+ people are most at risk.

He said a two-dose mpox vaccination remains the best defence against getting a severe case.

"We see lots of people who have just had one vaccination, lots of people who have had both vaccinations, still presenting with symptoms but much less severe than had they not had the vaccinations," he said.
A lot of the people we're seeing now just have a few skin lesions or a little STI symptom that they wouldn't have necessarily even attributed to mpox."

Public health outreach has taken place at various venues, including Wet on Wellington in Collingwood.

The sex-on-premises venue caters for all genders but when it first opened more than 20 years ago, it was exclusively for men who have sex with other men.
The facade of a Melbourne gay sex venue
Sex-on-premises venue Wet on Wellington has put up mpox warning signs and conducted on-site testing and vaccination clinics. Source: Supplied
General manager Shane Gardner said the venue responded to the first mpox outbreak in 2022 by putting up warning signs and conducting on-site testing and vaccination clinics.

He said after two meetings with the Victorian Department of Health this year, it had followed suit.

"We formulated a plan to put the posters up and to mitigate the problem. I think the government needs to throw more money at it to start with to the likes of Thorne Harbour Health because they're the main people who are driving it," he said.
A sign warning people about mpox
One of the mpox warning signs inside Wet on Wellington. Source: SBS News
Victoria's Chief Health Officer Dr Clare Looker has encouraged at-risk people to consider reducing their number of sexual partners and has encouraged them to keep contact details for contact tracing.

After his six-week ordeal with mpox, Jack, who is in a long-term, same-sex relationship, said he had no appetite for casual sex.

He urged people to seriously consider the advice from the health authorities.

"I think it is kind of scary and if that's the way it's transmitted, then I think it's kind of responsible to just be aware of some of that stuff and be conscious of what you're doing," he said.

"Of course, be double-vaccinated, that's step one. I got it while I was double-vaccinated but who knows how much worse it could have been if I wasn't vaccinated, just like COVID."

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4 min read
Published 2 September 2024 5:37am
By Greg Dyett
Source: SBS News


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