Fragments of monkeypox viral DNA have been detected in the semen of four men among Italy’s first cases, strengthening the possibility that the disease might be sexually transmissible, physicians say.   

Since early May, more than 3100 confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox have been reported in 32 non-endemic countries, including eight cases in Australia, with much of the transmission understood to occur through close physical contact.  

Infectious diseases physicians, however, suggest sexual transmission could be driving the current outbreak — which is mainly occurring among men who have sex with men — after they found viral DNA in the semen of four patients.  

According to their ‘rapid communication’ in Eurosurveillance, the men were all in their 30s and had each had condomless sexual intercourse with male partners while travelling in the two weeks prior to their infections, which were detected in late May.