Percentage of gay D.C. monkeypox cases rises slightly
The latest weekly release of monkeypox case numbers by the D.C. Department of Health shows there were a total cumulative number of 431 monkeypox cases in the District as of Wednesday, Aug.
31, an increase of 26 cases since 405 cases reported one week earlier. This week’s DOH data for the category of cases based on an individual’s sexual orientation show there were a total of 14 cases (3.2%) listed as straight/heterosexual, up from 11 cases (2.7%) from the previous week; 212 (49%) gay, up from 172 (42.5%) from last week; 24 (5.6%) bisexual, up from 18 (4.4% last week; and 179 (41.5%) in a category listed as “unknown” for the person’s sexual orientation, which was up from 172 (42.5%) from the previous week.
Officials at DOH, which is also known as D.C. Health, have said since the start of the monkeypox outbreak earlier this year that the overwhelming majority of cases in D.C., similar to across the nation, have been among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men.
One DOH official speaking at a monkeypox town hall event last month placed the number of D.C. cases among all men who have sex with men at more than 90 percent.
