Opinion: Monkeypox, the next epidemic may be here. The U.S. isn’t ready for it

The next epidemic may be here. The U.S. isn't ready for it If HIV and Covid-19 were wake-up calls for the government to prioritize public health, monkeypox shows the consequences of hitting the snooze button too many times. Patrick Skerrett STAT

As if dealing with continued waves of Covid-19 isn’t enough, the U.S. is facing a new outbreak — monkeypox — that highlights just how close the U.S. public health system is to its breaking point.

While monkeypox has not technically been categorized as a sexually transmitted infection (STI), it looks and acts like common STIs and shares the same barriers to detection and treatment, including stigma and access to knowledgeable providers.

For people like me who are working inside the broad national response to monkeypox, there are loud echoes of the earliest days of Covid-19 and, longer ago, of AIDS. But understanding the country’s capacity to contain monkeypox requires an examination of the STI epidemic that the nation has ignored for years, which is why these diseases continue to be out of control.

Consider this: More than 2.5 million sexually transmitted infections were diagnosed in 2020, the last year with complete statistics. The ballooning rates touch people of every race, sexual orientation, and even age. Syphilis among newborns has increased 235% since 2016, and STIs like gonorrhea have reached historic highs among teens and adults.