Monkeypox epidemic in Australia: Victoria registers significant local transmission, worries about lockdowns, and vaccinations

Australia’s first publicly-known monkeypox patient has revealed he contracted the virus from an overseas fling while on holiday in the US.

Sydneysider Jack Barlow broke the news in a hilarious TikTok clip dressed up as former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian giving a Covid-style press conference.

He told The Project on Tuesday he wanted to talk about what he was going through to dispel some of the myths surrounding the potentially deadly disease which causes flu symptoms and skin legions.

It is spread through skin-to-skin contact and bodily fluids and has now been recorded in 100 countries including 93 where it has not historically been detected.

‘I actually caught it off a single holiday fling in Provincetown, Massachusetts,’ he said.

‘It’s just something any normal 26-year-old will do overseas and it was actually on the same day some of my symptoms began.’

Mr Barlow’s symptoms were relatively mild but he decided to undergo a three-week isolation period to ensure he didn’t spread the disease to anyone else.

However, rather than sit around feeling sorry for himself, Mr Harlow decided he wanted to start a conversation.

‘I came out on TikTok dressed as Gladys and did a morning presser,’ he said.

‘I could have felt miserable about myself or I could’ve done something, that’s how I think about it.

‘I’ve never needed an excuse to dress up as Gladys.’

In his video Mr Harlow waddles out to announce a new monkeypox case, identified as a ‘handsome, ginger gay man who returned from the United States’.

‘I would like to further announce that the positive case was me and as a result of this, it breaks my heart to say it, I will have no choice but to enforce a strict 21-day lockdown,’ Mr Harlow said in the video.

But Mr Harlow said the reality of monkeypox was a lot heavier than what he let on in his video.

‘A huge amount of anxiety washes over you,’ he said.

‘I’d just gotten back (from the US), I’d seen some of my friends – what if I’d accidentally given it to them?’

He added that while he’s proud to have started meaningful discussion around monkeypox, going public with his story hasn’t been easy.

‘I still think I’m the only person in Australia to come out publicly about it and it hasn’t done wonders for my love life,’ he said.

‘Hopefully we can break the stigma and people can talk about it

People infected with monkeypox are urged to isolate until all sores clear.

Monkeypox – often caught through handling monkeys – is a rare viral disease that kills around 10 per cent of people it strikes, according to figures.

The virus responsible for the disease is found mainly in the tropical areas of west and central Africa.

Monkeypox was first discovered in 1958, with the first reported human case in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970. Human cases were recorded for the first time in the US in 2003 and the UK in September 2018.

It resides in wild animals but humans can catch it through direct contact with animals, such as handling monkeys, or eating inadequately cooked meat.

The virus can enter the body through broken skin, the respiratory tract, or the eyes, nose or mouth.

It can pass between humans via droplets in the air, and by touching the skin of an infected individual, or touching objects contaminated by them.

Symptoms usually appear within five and 21 days of infection. These include a fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills and fatigue.

The most obvious symptom is a rash, which usually appears on the face before spreading to other parts of the body. This then forms skin lesions that scab and fall off.

Monkeypox is usually mild, with most patients recovering within a few weeks without treatment. Yet, the disease can often prove fatal.

There are no specific treatments available for monkeypox infection, according to the World Health Organization.