'You don't want it' virus: California man with monkeypox urges others to get vaccinated | CNN (2023)

CNN—

Matt Ford makes his living editing videos, so putting one together for TikTok wasn't a problem for him. But his last post wasn't a crazy dance or a video on how to properly peel a banana.

It is based on his own experience with monkeypox. YourVideoit was viewed approximately 250,000 times as of Friday afternoon. He posted it to educate people about the virus outbreak, to encourage people to get vaccinated, and to make it very clear: "You don't want this."

Anyone can get smallpox, but a"notable faction"of cases in the global outbreak are among gay and bisexual men, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"I became fully aware of it for the first time and started noticing the symptoms on Friday, June 17th," Ford told CNN of the county-ordered isolation at his Los Angeles home, where he is expected to remain for a few more weeks before be able to go back. more contagious.

He was hoping to go to Pride in New York last week. "But that wasn't planned," he said.

In the video, Ford talks about how the virus spreads and shows off some of his injuries.

Monkeypox is spread when someone has direct contact with a person's infectious rashes, scabs, or bodily fluids. It can also be spread by respiratory secretions with prolonged face-to-face contact or by touching objects that have been in contact with the body fluids of an affected person.according to the CDC.

Ford said he vaguely heard about a monkeypox outbreak via Twitter, but didn't realize how close he was to the outbreak until a friend reached out to him to inform him that Ford might have been exposed.

Ford said he immediately began a full-body scan.

"I noticed some spots that I hadn't noticed before," said Ford, 30. He said the spots looked like pimples or ingrown hairs, so he went to a West Hollywood clinic to get tested.

Ford said a doctor took a cotton swab, and a few days later it tested positive for monkeypox.

Ford was really saying that the test just confirmed what he already knew. The spots he found no longer looked like pimples.

"They got bigger and filled up really quickly," he said, and they hurt, especially in the most sensitive areas.

He said he also felt like he had the flu.

People with monkeypox may develop a fever, headache, muscle aches, chills, swollen lymph nodes, and feeling tired. He said he also had night sweats, a sore throat and a cough.

Some of the injuries were so painful that he went back to the doctor who prescribed painkillers.

"That proved to be very helpful as I was finally able to sleep through the night," said Ford. "But even the painkillers didn't numb it completely. It just made it bearable enough for me to fall asleep again.

In the video, Ford is spoken clearly as he looks directly into the camera and warns others.

Matt Ford said he has over 25 injuries on his body, like this one on his arm.

"Hello my name is Matthew. I have smallpox, this shit sucks and you don't want it," Ford tells viewers.

He gives a tour of some of his 25 injuries, pointing to his face, arms and the spots on his abdomen.

"They really aren't cute," he says.

Although the disease is most common in Central and West Africa, this current outbreak has hit countries that have had few or no historical cases.

As of Friday, there were 460 probable or confirmed cases in the United States alone, according to the CDC. Los Angeles County Health Department Monkeypoxcontrol Panelsaid he had 35 of the cases.

The county confirmed in an email to CNN on Thursday that it is issuing isolation orders for people who test positive for monkeypox. Ford said he received his email notification from the county on June 24.

Last Friday, LA County confirmed that some of the cases involve gay and bisexual men. Some of the men attended some important events. The county said it worked with organizers to notify attendees of potential exposure.

The county has already offered the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine to people who have been exposed to others who have had monkeypox. this week theThe announcement was made by the Biden administrationmeasures to intensify its response to the outbreak,detailed plansto offer more vaccines and tests to those most at risk.

Vaccines have limited availability, but the government has said it would expand accessHigher transmission areas🇧🇷 He said 56,000 doses would be made available immediately, 296,000 doses of vaccine in the coming weeks and another 750,000 over the summer. On Friday, the government ordered an additional 2.5 million doses.

Since Ford first told his friends that he had smallpox, others have informed him that they have also contracted smallpox.

Worried that not many people would know about it, Ford came up with the idea of ​​making the TikTok video and sharing it.

"Since I caught it, I've noticed that it's spreading rapidly. That's a big reason why I'm trying to speak up and raise awareness about it," said Ford.

Reaction to the video was "great," he said. He was encouraged that several people told him they didn't know this beforehand and thanked him for spreading the word.

Ford also hopes the video will help end the stigma associated with the disease.

"There shouldn't be any stigma," said Ford. "It's just a bad twist."

"I often think that silence is the enemy," added Ford. "I'm happy to be able to let people know and I hope more people are safe."