A gay porn star has shared photographs of how his moneypox symptoms developed over a month, graduating from small bumps he thought were razor burn to huge blisters that could leave him scarred.
Silver Steele, of Houston, Texas, started getting monkeypox symptoms around July 11, when small pimple-like white spots started appearing around his mouth.
Over the course of three weeks, Steele saw the spots develop into painful red blisters before they eventually scabbed over and started healing.
He said he was posting the montage of his symptom development 'not to gross anyone out, but to educate'.
'This is really hard to look at,' he said in a July 25 video he posted to his social media. 'I'm just asking everyone to be a little compassionate and to understand that if its hard to look out, imagine what it's like to have.'
'Not everyone displays symptoms the exact same way, but I’ve been told by more than one professional that my case is a "clinically perfect" example,' he said on Instagram on August 4.
It comes as America's monkeypox cases hit 12,689 today, with another 800 recorded over the last 24 hours. Globally, more than 38,000 cases have been detected in 93 countries — with the vast majority having never previously spotted the virus.
Gay porn star Silver Steele, of Houston, Texas, developed horrific blisters on his face after developing monkeypox and documented his month-long battle with the virus
In a July 25 video (pictured), he showed off the worst of his lesions and said it was 'really hard to look at' and asked for people to be compassionate toward those who contract the virus
Steele first noticed the bumps after a Fourth of July party and initially thought it was only razor burn, according to Insider.
But four days later, he noticed his health had declined and that 'my lymph nodes were swollen, it was hurting to swallow and I was just having trouble moving.'
After going to the doctor, it was confirmed he had the virus and he would go on to develop a fever, chills, and night sweats, according to Insider.
Within 48 hours, his lesions began to hurt as the flu-like symptoms subsided. He would develop more lesions on his gums, throat, legs, and hands, and said it 'hurt most when I ate.'
'There were times when I was literally just sitting there watching TV and all of a sudden it's just like knives stabbing you,' he told Insider. The pain was pretty intense.'
Steele also developed strep throat while he was down with monkeypox and said he nearly passed out while a doctor was examining his throat.
'He took the tongue depressor away and all of a sudden it was like: "Oh my gosh!" And everything started to go black,' he told Insider.
Steele first noticed the white bumps a few days after a Fourth of July party and thought they were razor burn when he started developing symptoms on July 11 (pictured left). By July 15, the bumps had become more pronounced, Steele said and shared a photo of the lesions' development (right). During the early stages of symptoms, he noticed his health had declined and that 'my lymph nodes were swollen, it was hurting to swallow and I was just having trouble moving.'
Three days later, by July 18 (pictured above in a selfie taken and shared online by Steele), six days after he first started experiencing symptoms, the lesions had developed further
Steele said that within 48 hours of the initial symptoms, his lesions began to hurt but the flu-like symptoms subsided. He would develop more lesions on his gums, throat, legs, and hands, and said it 'hurt most when I ate.' (Pictured above, a selfie he shared from July 21)
Steele has been given the TPoxx vaccine - which is used for smallpox and can only be given with special permission from the CDC - and is encouraging others to get vaccinated when they can.
He also credits having a doctor who primarily sees gay men - which the virus is mainly spreading among, but it is not considered an STI and can be contracted by anyone.
'He finds these resources quicker than most,' he told Insider.
Steele said he 'started to feel human again' around day 18 and at the end of his quarantine period, he revealed he lost 14.5 pounds and is slowly creeping back up to his 197 pre-monkeypox weight.
Steele is now asking others to reach out to those who have monkeypox and spread a kind word and not be judgmental.
'These aren't people who deserve to get a virus, they just simply got it. So, just try to be compassionate and remember that they're people and they're worried and they're scared and they're in pain too,' he said on Instagram on July 25.
America's monkeypox outbreak was declared a public health emergency by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in early August after the nation's infection tally hit almost 7,000 cases.
He also credits having a doctor who primarily sees gay men - which the virus is mainly spreading among, but it is not considered an STI and can be contracted by anyone. Steele has been given the TPoxx vaccine - which is used for smallpox and can only be given with special permission from the CDC - and is encouraging others to get vaccinated when they can
Steele said he 'started to feel human again' around day 18 and at the end of his quarantine period, he revealed he lost 14.5 pounds and is slowly creeping back up to his 197 pre-monkeypox weight
Steele showcased his entire journey with monkeypox from when he started developing symptom on July 11 until he was out of his quarantine period on August 1 (pictured right). 'Not everyone displays symptoms the exact same way, but I’ve been told by more than one professional that my case is a "clinically perfect" example,' he said on Instagram on August 4.
Steele has since received the TPoxx vaccine, which is also used to treat smallpox, and can only be received with special permission from the CDC. He encourages his followers to also get the vaccine as it becomes available to them
Monkeypox has appeared in almost all 50 states with California experiences the most cases
Secretary Xavier Becerra revealed the shift to an emergency status in a press conference, saying he was prepared to go 'to the next level' and urging every American to 'take monkeypox seriously.'
The declaration makes more resources available for states, allow for federal officials being deployed nationwide and enhance data collection on cases, hospitalizations and testing.
There is nearly 12,000 cases in the US as of August 16
The World Health Organization also declared an international public health emergency two weeks before, after the virus was reported in 70 countries where it is not endemic.
A rash can appear between one and five days of infection and genial lesions are most common. The lesions tend to group in one area.
The virus takes two to four weeks before it starts to clear up.
How DO you catch monkeypox and what are the symptoms? Everything you need to know about the virus
How do you catch monkeypox?
Until this worldwide outbreak, monkeypox was usually spread by infected rodents — including rats, mice and even squirrels — in west and central Africa.
Humans can catch the illness — which comes from the same family as smallpox — if they're bitten by infected animals, touch their blood, bodily fluids, or scabs, or eat wild game or bush meat.
The orthopoxvirus, which causes monkeypox, can enter the body through broken skin — even if it's not visible, as well as the eyes, nose and mouth.
Despite being mainly spread by wild animals, it was known that monkeypox could be passed on between people. However, health chiefs insist it was very rare until the current outbreak.
Human-to-human spread can occur if someone touches clothing or bedding used by an infected person, or through direct contact with the virus' tell-tale scabs. The virus can also spread through coughs and sneezes.
In the ongoing surge in cases, experts think the virus is passing through skin-to-skin contact during sex — even though this exact mechanism has never been seen until now.
How deadly is it?
Monkeypox is usually mild, with most patients recovering within a few weeks without treatment.
Yet, the disease kills up to 10 per cent of cases. But this high rate is thought to be in part due to a historic lack of testing meaning that a tenth of known cases have died rather than a tenth of all infections.
However, with milder strains the fatality rate is closer to one in 100 — similar to when Covid first hit.
The West African version of the virus, which is mild compared to the Central African strain, is behind the current spread. No deaths have been reported as part of the ongoing outbreak.
How is it tested for?
It can be difficult to diagnose monkeypox as it is often confused with other infections such as chickenpox.
Monkeypox is confirmed by a clinical assessment by a health professional and a test in the UK's specialist lab — the UKHSA's Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory.
The test involves taking samples from skin lesions, such as part of the scab, fluid from the lesions or pieces of dry crusts.
What are the symptoms?
It can take up to three weeks for monkeypox-infected patients to develop any of its tell-tale symptoms.
Early signs of the virus include a fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion — meaning it could, theoretically, be mistaken for other common illnesses.
But its most unusual feature is a rash that often begins on the face, then spreads to other parts of the body, commonly the hands and feet.
The rash changes and goes through different stages before finally forming a scab, which later falls off.
How long is someone contagious?
An individual is contagious from the point their rash appears until all the scabs have fallen off and there is intact skin underneath.
The scabs may also contain infectious virus material.
The infectious period is thought to last for three weeks but may vary between individuals.
What do I do if I have symptoms?
The UK Health Security Agency advises Britons to contact their sexual health clinic if they have a rash with blisters and have been in close contact with a suspected or confirmed monkeypox case or have been in West or Central Africa in the last three weeks.
Britons are asked to contact clinics ahead of their visit and avoid contact with others until they have been seen by a medic.
Gay and bisexual men have been asked to be especially alert to the symptoms as most of the cases have been detected in men who have sex with men.
What even is monkeypox?
Monkeypox was first discovered when an outbreak of a pox-like disease occurred in monkeys kept for research in 1958.
The first human case was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the infection has been reported in a number of central and western African countries since then.
Only a handful of cases have been reported outside of Africa and they were confined to people with travel links to the continent.
The UK, US, Israel and Singapore are the only countries which had detected the virus before May 2022.
Monkeypox is a rare viral infection which kills up to one in ten of those infected but does not spread easily between people. The tropical disease is endemic in parts of Africa and is known for its rare and unusual rashes, bumps and lesions (file photo)
Nurses and doctors are being advised to stay 'alert' to patients who present with a new rash or scabby lesions (like above)
Is it related to chickenpox?
Despite causing a similar rash, chickenpox is not related to monkeypox.
The infection, which usually strikes children, is caused by the varicella-zoster virus.
For comparison, monkeypox — like smallpox — is an orthopoxvirus. Because of this link, smallpox vaccines also provide protection against monkeypox.
Are young people more vulnerable?
Britons aged under 50 may be more susceptible to monkeypox, according to the World Health Organization.
This is because children in the UK were routinely offered the smallpox jab, which protects against monkeypox, until 1971.
The WHO also warns that the fatality rate has been higher among young children.
Does it spread as easily as Covid?
Leading experts insist we won't be seeing Covid-style levels of transmission in the monkeypox outbreak.
A World Health Organization report last year suggested the natural R rate of the virus – the number of people each patient would infect if they lived normally while sick – is two.
This is lower than the original Wuhan variant of Covid and about a third of the R rate of the Indian 'Delta' strain.
But the real rate is likely much lower because 'distinctive symptoms greatly aid in its early detection and containment,' the team said, meaning it's easy to spot cases and isolate them.
Covid is mainly spread through droplets an infected person releases whenever they breathe, speak, cough or sneeze.
There are a handful of antivirals and therapies for smallpox that appear to work on monkeypox, including the drug tecovirimat, which was approved for monkeypox in the EU in January
Is there a vaccine for it?
The smallpox vaccine, called Imvanex in the UK and Jynneos in the US, can protect against monkeypox because the viruses behind the illnesses are closely related.
Data shows it prevents around 85 per cent of cases, and has been used 'off-label' in the UK since 2018.
The jab, thought to cost £20 per dose, contains a modified vaccinia virus, which is similar to both smallpox and monkeypox, but does not cause disease in people.
Because of its similarity to the pox viruses, antibodies produced against this virus offer cross protection.
Are there any drugs to treat it?
There are a handful of antivirals and therapies for smallpox that appear to work on monkeypox.
This includes the drug tecovirimat, which was approved for monkeypox in the EU in January.
Tecovirimat prevents the virus from leaving an infected cell, hindering the spread of the virus within the body.
An injectable antiviral used to treat AIDS called cidofovir can be used to manage the infection, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
It also works by stopping the growth of the virus.
English (United States) ·