Knowledge and vaccination acceptance toward the human monkeypox among men who have sex with men in China

Abstract

BackgroundMSM individuals are at high risk of monkeypox infection, and judicious use of vaccines can control the outbreak. Therefore, we conducted a national cross-sectional survey to assess the vaccination willingness, associated factors, and related knowledges of monkeypox among MSM individuals in China.MethodsThis anonymous cross-sectional study was conducted in China from July 1 to July 3, 2022, and electronic questionnaires were sent online to MSM individuals of specific institutions. Men, aged 18 or older, who had anal sex in the past year were recruited. Multivariable logistic regression models and univariable logistic regression models were performed in different groups of participants, including all eligible respondents, people with or without self-reported HIV infection, and people who had sex with at least one male sexual partner in last month.ResultsA total of 2,618 male respondents, including 2,134 homosexuals and 484 bisexuals, were enrolled in our final analysis. Most of the respondents had a certain understanding of the source of infection, transmission route, and preventive measures, but lacked knowledge of the susceptible population, clinical manifestations, vaccination, and treatment. In total, 90.2% of all respondents were willing to receive the vaccines against monkeypox. Among people with self-reported HIV infection, the vaccination acceptance rate was 91.7%, while it was 89.7% in the rest. The main influencing factors were knowledge about monkeypox (moderate: aOR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.04–2.08; high: aOR = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.23–3.34), knowledge about prevention measures (moderate: aOR = 3.52, 95% CI: 2.51–4.94; high: aOR = 5.32, 95% CI: 2.98–9.47), concerns about their susceptibility to monkeypox infection (aOR = 4.37, 95% CI: 3.29–5.80), and possible contact with people and animals in epidemic areas (aOR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.25–0.70). For self-reported HIV-infected individuals, education (bachelor degree: aOR = 0.40, 95% CI: 0.18–0.89) and poor condom use (sometimes: aOR = 2.18, 95% CI: 1.06–4.47) may also affect the vaccination.ConclusionsThere was still a lack of knowledge about the human monkeypox among MSM individuals in China. The vaccination acceptance rate of this high-risk population was high, and it was closely related to the knowledge factors, fear of infection, and possible contact with people or animals in affected areas. Targeted publicity and education of the high-risk groups, vaccination pre-arranged planning should be formulated to cope with the further development of this infectious disease.

Knowledge and attitudes of health care workers about monkeypox virus infection in Southern Italy

“…In the present study, of concern was the knowledge gap about the groups at risk which ranged from 4% for those who indicated HCWs/laboratory personnel to 12.8% for elderly, frail, and people with underlying immune deficiencies. A considerably higher value has been observed in the previously cited survey among men who have sex with men with 40.2% of the respondents that correctly indicated them as high-risk group (35). The lack of knowledge of the disease, how it is transmitted as well as regarding risk groups is troubling because knowing is a prerequisite to facilitate the HCWs for an effective implementation of a successful control and educational activities and, therefore, this may have negative effects upon control and prevention efforts.…”

“…The present finding does not allow inferring the basis on which this belief emerged, but we may speculate that it might have arisen from the fact that only a small number of respondents correctly indicated themselves as a group at risk. A previous study showed that 49.6% of HCWs in Saudi Arabia was afraid of contracting mpox (28) and in the already mentioned survey in Turkey 20.1% of participants were more concerned about mpox than COVID-19 (33), whereas 75% of men who have sex with men showed concerns about their susceptibility to mpox infection (35).…”

“…Some of the already mentioned studies have shown that the knowledge on the transmission through droplets were very similar to the present value. Indeed, 41.3% of HCWs in the Czech Republic (34), 45.3% in China (32), and 47.3% in Turkey (33) were aware of this mode of transmission, while 47.5% has been observed among Chinese men who have sex with men (35).…”

Monkeypox awareness and low vaccination hesitancy among men who have sex with men in China

“…19 During the current monkeypox epidemic, as of September 20, 2022, six crosssectional studies have investigated the awareness about monkeypox, among which five focused on the public, medical professionals or students (in Italian, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States), [20][21][22][23][24] and one focused on MSM in China. 25 Moreover, studies on monkeypox vaccination hesitancy toward MSM in China were severely absent. Therefore, our study aims to assess the level and correlates of monkeypox vaccination hesitancy among MSM in China.…”

Perceptions and Intention to get vaccinated against Mpox among the LGTBIQ+ Community during the 2022 outbreak: A Cross-Sectional Study in Peru

“…Few studies have investigated the perception and acceptance of the vaccination against mpox in this high-risk group around the world. There is one study in the Netherlands in 2022 that reveals that 81.5% of gays, bisexuals, and MSM agreed with receiving the mpox vaccine [20] while another study made in China in the MSM population reports that 90,2% also agreed [21]. However, there are no studies in Latin America focusing on the acceptance of mpox vaccination in the MSM population, despite the high incidence reported in the Americas, making 87.8% of the cases worldwide by February 2023.…”