Hi there<\/p>\n
Thanks for your question.<\/p>\n
Great you are doing so well on your HIV meds (ART).<\/p>\n
Having an undetectable viral load and a CD4 count above 350 likely means that HIV doesn’t affect any risk from monkeypox (MPV).<\/p>\n
So advice for the general public will be the same for you.<\/p>\n
Luckily, MPV is still very rare in the UK and it is even more rare in the US. So your risk of coming into contact with MPV is close to zero.<\/p>\n
COVID will be a higher risk, but if you are up to date with COVID vaccines, including a recent booster, this risk is also low.<\/p>\n
Unlike COVID, you need to be in a confined space with someone for over 3-6 hours for MPV to be transmitted in a closed space. And even the flight would not count as a closed space due to air circulation on a plane.<\/p>\n
Wearing a mask would reduce any risk, but is it more likely to protect you from COVID which is still common in the UK and the US.<\/p>\n
Risks from more direct contact, for example from new sexual partners, is a higher risk for MPV. But this is very similar to some STIs.<\/p>\n
Given that sex always carries a small risk of an STI, monkeypox shouldn’t affect your upcoming holiday.<\/p>\n
You might find that people in the US are more cautious about catching MPV from you.<\/p>\n
These links have more info.<\/p>\n
Monkeypox: Q&A and update
\n<\/strong>https:\/\/i-base.info\/monkeypox<\/a><\/p>\n