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People living with HIV are about twice as likely as their HIV-negative peers to develop herpes zoster—better known as shingles—but vaccination can close the gap, according to a Canadian study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Mediterranean voyage changes course twice after Turkey, then Egypt refuse accessThe Scarlet Lady cruise ship has changed its itinerary for the second time this week, after first Turkey and now Egypt denied it entry to their ports. The ship, owned by Virgin Voyages and chartered by 2SLGBTQ+ travel company Atlantis Events, is carrying 1,900 passengers, including legendary Broadway performer Patti LuPone. The passengers found out on Thursday the cruise would not be heading to Alexandria, Egypt, as a replacement for previously planned stops to Kuşadası and Istanbul in Turkey. Earlier this week, Turkish authorities canacelled the planned port calls, saying...

Some of the UK’s top judges are hearing arguments over whether a Trinidad and Tobago court had the legal right to overturn a 2018 ruling to remove colonial-era homophobic laws that criminalise anal sex between consenting men. The country’s “buggery law”, often referred to as its “sodomy” law, was created in 1925 and was written into Trinidad and Tobago’s 1986 Sexual Offences Act. In 2017 a Trinidadian LGBTQ+ rights activist, Jason Jones, challenged the law, and in 2018 a high court ruled that it infringed upon his constitutional right to privacy and equality. Last year a court of appeal quashed...

Zohran Mamdani is promising free grocery stores, free housing and free everything, but the only free thing New Yorkers can really count on getting for free is an infectious disease. And flavored condoms for the sickest city in America. Gonorrhea rates in New York City have more than doubled in a decade and syphilis is ‘surging’ statewide. Mamdani’s Department of Health has responded to this crisis by rushing a free supply of lubricant and chocolate flavored condoms. “Providing high-quality sexual and reproductive healthcare services is a priority for the Mamdani Administration,” explained NYC Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services...

A new study published in Nature Communications challenges the assumption that only people with symptoms can spread mpox. The study found that many men who have sex with men (MSM) tested positive for mpox even though they had no symptoms. Researchers then confirmed that these men likely passed on mpox to partners without ever knowing they had the virus. ... Most experts believed that mpox was primarily spread by people who had active symptoms like sores. However, contact tracers who tried to track outbreaks from one diagnosed patient to another had trouble finding connections between cases. This new study may...

Two researchers at the National Institutes of Health have been charged with conspiracy to smuggle monkeypox into the United States. Vincent Munster and Claude Kwe, both researchers with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory, were charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy to smuggle monkeypox into the United States and giving false statements to federal law enforcement. According to the criminal complaint, Vincent Munster, a citizen of the Netherlands, 53, is the Chief of the Virus Ecology Section, Laboratory of Virology at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton, Montana. Claude Kwe, a citizen of Cameroon,...

Vincent Munster and Claude Kwe, both researchers with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory were charged today in a criminal complaint with conspiracy to smuggle monkeypox into the United States and giving false statements to federal law enforcement, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. announced. According to the criminal complaint, Vincent Munster, a citizen of the Netherlands, 53, is the Chief of the Virus Ecology Section, Laboratory of Virology at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton, Montana. Claude Kwe, a citizen of Cameroon, 38, is a research fellow in Munster’s section. The work of...

With so-called Pride festivities set to kick off in three days, the LGBTQ3.14… community in Boston has been confronted with a turd in their punchbowl, in the form of an outbreak of the monkeypox virus. Monkeypox (or mpox, as racist people who can't help themselves from associating monkeys with certain minorities call it) causes symptoms that include "a skin rash or mucosal lesions which can last 2–4 weeks accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes," the World Health Organization informs us. WHO warns that monkeypox can spread: ...from person to person mainly through...

The county has reported 12 Clade II cases this year, mostly among people who were not fully vaccinated. All involved men between ages 17 and 52, no Clade I cases have been reported in San Diego County. Bottle of Vaccine for booster shot for Smallpox and Monkeypox MPXV. San Diego County public health officials Tuesday urged people at greater risk for mpox to get both doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine as cases rise statewide and globally, including reports of the more severe Clade I strain. The county has reported 12 Clade II cases this year, mostly among people who were...

When it comes to the queer bar in the wild, so many threats exist, and it's only gotten worse in the past few years. Higher upfront costs combined with lower foot traffic have caused a nationwide problem for the service and food industries, which is exacerbated in queer spaces, which deal with smaller demographics than the average bar or restaurant. And of course, there’s the fact that many people, especially younger people, just don’t go out or have a third space anymore.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced on Sunday that he would be “introducing federal legislation to make the Pride Flag a congressionally authorized symbol.” In a post on X, Schumer criticized President Donald Trump for attacking “not just the LGBTQ community,” but everyone who cares “about pride and equality” in New York City (NYC). Schumer added that he was “proud to stand with” people such as New York State Rep. Tony Simone (D) and New York State Sen. Erik Bottcher (D) to make his announcement. “The Stonewall Inn is sacred ground,” Schumer wrote. “Last week, Donald Trump attacked not...

New York City officials plan to reraise a pride flag at the federal monument at Stonewall in Manhattan, setting up a potential fight with the White House at the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement nearly 60 years ago. Federal officials quietly took the flag down after the Trump administration in January issued guidance drastically limiting the types of flags that could be displayed at sites managed by the National Park Service. But Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal said in an interview Tuesday that he and other New York City-area politicians would reraise the flag at the federal monument...

People who have had mpox (also known as monkeypox) may experience persistent physical effects, such as skin discoloration and scarring, as well as ongoing psychological and social impact, according to a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine. In an analysis of more than 150 people who had mpox during the large outbreak in 2022, nearly 60% reported lasting physical aftereffects, 49% reported ongoing issues related to their social life and 45% reported increased depression 11 to 18 months later.

A new mutant strain of mpox has been detected in England, health officials warned today. The unnamed patient had recently come to the UK after traveling to Asia. Seeking medical advice, the case was flagged with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) who undertook laboratory testing and discovered the strain contained elements of both 'clade Ib and clade IIb mpox'. The clade 1b mutation kills up to one in 100 of those infected and is believed to be behind a wave of miscarriages in Africa, where it emerged. A different, less severe, form of mpox, called clade II, sparked alarm...

Gov. Greg Abbott originally called for the removal of rainbow crosswalks and other symbols of pride from public roads across Texas on Oct. 8, saying they pose safety concerns and misuse taxpayer dollars. In a statement, Abbott said any city that does not comply within 30 days could risk the “withholding or denial of state and federal road funding and suspension of agreements with TxDOT.” Almost a month later, the City of Dallas has submitted a request for an exception from compliance with the standards outlined in the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) October letter. "The City of Dallas installs...

A Maryland mayor’s decision to eliminate the city’s only rainbow crosswalks has become the latest flash point in a nationwide campaign to strip LGBTQ+ symbols from public spaces. The Salisbury crosswalks, installed in 2018 and repainted each year by volunteers, were removed on November 11 after Salisbury Mayor Randy Taylor ordered crews to mill away the paint at dawn, The Washington Post reports. Taylor, who narrowly won office in 2023, said the city must ensure “neutrality” on government property.

UK health officials are encouraging gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men to make sure they are vaccinated against mpox, as a strain called 'clade Ib' shows early signs of local spread in some European countries. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says it is aware of small numbers of cases of this strain of mpox - formerly known as monkeypox - in Spain, Italy, Portugal and the Netherlands, as well as the US.

Monkey Pox Dr. Demetre Daskalakis Back in September 2023, Joe Biden announced a new team to lead the White House’s national monkeypox response. Biden named Dr. Demetre Daskalakis as the White House National Monkeypox Response Deputy Coordinator. Demetre Daskalakis Instagram On Wednesday Dr. Daskalakis turned in his resignation at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). His resignation came hours after news broke that CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted from the agency. His resignation comes on the same day that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a slew of changes to limit access to...

The United States’ first known case of a more severe strain of mpox was confirmed in California, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday. The risk of clade I mpox to the public remains low, the agency said. The person diagnosed with clade I mpox had recently traveled from Eastern Africa, where an mpox outbreak is ongoing. The person was treated at a local medical facility and released, the CDC said. The person has been isolating at home and their symptoms are improving. The state and CDC are working to identify and follow up with potential contacts....

FRIDAY, Oct. 11, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Infection with the mpox virus is five times more likely among gay and bisexual men who engage in unprotected anal sex as the receptive partner, a new analysis reveals. The study dovetails with the release of a second report on clusters of mpox cases in California and Illinois of a strain of mpox that's resistant to treatment with the first-line drug tecovirimat. Because not all viruses from mpox cases are genetically scrutinized, "these findings likely underestimate the prevalence of this newly recognized drug-resistant variant," noted a team led by Crystal Gigante. She's an...