Monkeypox: patients, clinicians, and the need for shared responsibility

Patel and colleagues show that monkeypox can cause severe symptoms, especially among patients living with HIV.1 The images of the lesions reproduced in the article are disturbing but necessary to understand fully the severity of the disease, which is often described as typically causing mild symptoms.

This article was made possible by the participation of patients who consented to their clinical information being published. These patients understand the shared responsibility to help patients and healthcare workers stop the spread of monkeypox. A new ethic is a necessary condition to explain risks to the public and equip vulnerable groups with the tools they need to make healthier choices.

The history of HIV/AIDS is marked by numerous mistakes, but it also featured a highly effective alliance around public health matters, including the development of an extensive network of support between patients and activists and the doctors and nurses providing care.

Monkeypox demands that we face some salient choices which cannot be reduced to merely ensuring a vaccine. Other challenges include treatment access, information, and healthcare quality. Incorporating patients’ perspectives can refine and improve policymakers’ and clinicians’ responsiveness to, and effectiveness in dealing with, the challenge that monkeypox represents.