1) Rise in monkeypox cases in the UK reignites homophobic conversations

A total of 20 monkeypox cases have been confirmed in the UK following an outbreak earlier this month. Monkeypox, according to the NHS, is a rare infection mainly spread by wild animals in parts of Africa. Symptoms include a high temperature, headache, muscle aches, swollen glands, shivering/chills and exhaustion. Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said most cases in the UK are "mild" and that doses of the smallpox vaccine have been secured as a precaution, but most monkeypox cases will be mild enough to clear up on their own within a few weeks anyway.

However, the outbreak has caused a stir on social media, following claims by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) that a "a notable proportion" of the recent cases in the UK and Europe have been found in gay and bisexual men. "Why are they specifying that most of the people with monkeypox are gay? That's homophobic, stigmatising and equivalent to labelling gay people," tweeted one person, as someone else said: "What is the medical significance of this info? They are a statistical