Surge of Monkeypox Cases in China: Reports Indicate Increase in Infections Among Women
China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on Sept. 8 on the number of monkeypox virus infections for the month of August. For the first time, infections in women appeared to be among the cases.
The notice stated that 501 newly confirmed cases of monkeypox infections were reported in mainland China last month. Cases were from across 25 of 31 provinces and regions in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Henan, Chongqing, and others.
The notice said that 98.9 percent of the monkeypox cases were in males, and 92.5 percent were identified as affecting men who have sex with men. However, five of the cases were infections in women, all of whom had a history of heterosexual contact within 21 days from onset of the illness. Among their heterosexual partners, three were also infected with monkeypox, one recently had a rash, and one had no symptoms related to monkeypox.
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It’s the first time that infections in women have been reported since China’s CDC started releasing monkeypox data in September last year.
According to reports from China’s CDC, there were 491 newly confirmed cases of monkeypox in 23 provinces and regions across mainland China in July, and 106 new cases across six provinces and regions in June.
The newly released number for August is a trending topic in online searches on mainland Chinese social media platforms. Netizens left comments saying: “Wow, it’s still spreading!” Another post read, ”It’s increasing so fast.” One asked in a post, ”Why are there so many all of a sudden?”
One Chinese man posted on TikTok about his symptoms which include excess hair loss within a month and diarrhea. It attracted 90 million views and comments expressing concerns of the rise of monkeypox infections in China.
Dr. Jonathan Liu, a professor at the Canadian College of Traditional Chinese Medicine and director of the Kangmei Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic, told The Epoch Times, “Although the Chinese communist regime officially admits that more than 90 percent of monkeypox cases in China occur among men who have sex with men, they may underreport the number of monkeypox cases based on the intention to conceal the total number of homosexuals in China.”
Dr. Liu said that in May 2022, the monkeypox epidemic suddenly appeared and quickly spread to Europe and the Americas, and then spread to all six regions managed by the World Health Organization, with 87,000 cases and 112 deaths being reported in 110 countries.
“This global epidemic primarily, but not exclusively, affects gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, and is spreading from person to person through sexual networks,” Dr. Liu said.
Xiao Lusheng contributed to this report.
