With monkeypox outbreaks already documented in at least a dozen countries, theories about the virus's origin have started circulating on social media.
In the greatest epidemic of the virus outside of Africa, where it is prevalent, public health officials in Europe and North America are examining more than 100 suspected and confirmed cases of viral infection.
Since the latest virus spread worldwide, a few conspiracy theories have surfaced.
In this Centers for Disease Control and Prevention handout graphic, symptoms of one of the first known cases of the monkeypox virus are shown on a patient?s hand May 27, 2003.
1. United States Caused Monkeypox — False
According to NDTV, users on Chinese social media believe the United States is the source of monkeypox illnesses.
For the last three days, the viral illness has been a trending subject on Weibo. A hashtag in the United States reported two probable monkeypox cases collecting more than 51 million views.
While Chinese official media has refrained from blaming the United States for deliberately spreading monkeypox, as it did with COVID-19, many social media users have not.
South China Morning Post said a study by the Nuclear Threat Initiative in 2021 on biosecurity preparation strategy, which included a scenario of a monkeypox pandemic, has been cited out of context to infer that the US government knew the epidemic was coming.
Shu Chang, a nationalist influencer with 6.41 million Weibo followers, misinterpreted the story and said it revealed "a plan by the US to leak bioengineered monkeypox virus."
More than 7,500 people liked the post, and over 660 people commented, many of whom agreed with her.
During the COVID pandemic, there was a lot of misinformation about health in China and the United States. The two governments have been at odds about the virus's origins. Beijing issued unfounded assertions that the virus was produced at a military site, while some US media sources questioned if the virus had spilled from a research facility in Wuhan, where COVID was initially discovered.
Most countries' efforts to reduce the impact of a virus on their populations include preparation for outbreaks. Such preparedness does not imply the US aimed to release a virus into the globe.
Scientists are testing samples of the virus from the current epidemic to see if it has evolved. However, monkeypox is less likely to mutate than viruses like COVID-19 due to its structure.
According to the experts, there is presently no indication that the monkeypox in this epidemic is a novel strain, implying that the odds of a bioengineered version of the illness spreading undetected are slim.
ALSO READ: Czechia, Slovenia, and Austria Report First Monkeypox Cases
2. AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Caused Monkeypox? — False
Claims that the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination utilized a chimpanzee adenovirus vector that caused the monkeypox have gained popularity online.
Who is surprised that after millions of people have been injected with genetically modified chimp virus, there is now an outbreak of monkeypox?
— David Kurten (@davidkurten) May 20, 2022
One Twitter user, a British MP, wrote: "Who is surprised that after millions of people have been injected with genetically modified chimp virus, there is now an outbreak of monkeypox?"
A similar proposal has been made on Twitter and Facebook, with individuals pointing to a list of components that make up the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
Reuters Fact Check clarified that while the AstraZeneca vaccine does include a chimpanzee viral vector, the said jab has nothing to do with monkeypox.
Ian Jones, a virology expert at the University of Reading, said in a National Post report that COVID-19 is completely distinct from monkeypox. He underscored that there is no way the two are related.
It can be utilized as a vaccine or vaccine vector because people have little or no immunity to it, he added. He went on to say that the vector carries the vaccine component into human cells and does not cause infection.
Experts at Meedan Health Desk, a group of public health professionals striving to combat medical misinformation online, mirrored Jones' sentiments.
"Scientists use a chimpanzee adenovirus as a vector - a way to get instructions for making virus-fighting antigens into the body," they told Reuters.
3. Bill Gates' Predicted Monkeypox — False
Bill Gates's conspiracy theories dominated the COVID-19 pandemic, so it's no surprise that the billionaire's name has come up again in the newest debate.
Thousands of postings on social media have attracted attention to a speech Gates made in 2021 in which he said terrorists would try to unleash smallpox as part of an assault.
Gates' opinions on pandemics and the potential of smallpox as a bioterrorism weapon, as a philanthropist focused on global health, are not new and predate both monkeypox and COVID-19.
Marge says Bill Gates is going to use Monkeypox as another scam to make money and control the world, and he also wants everyone to eat fake meat created in a lab and drink “poop water.” “Why is Bill Gates running everything?” pic.twitter.com/DyrU5ZpY7j
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) May 20, 2022
Gates, per The Independent, warned countries to prepare for future pandemics and smallpox terror strikes during a Policy Exchange discussion with Jeremy Hunt, the chair of the UK parliament's health select committee, in November 2021.
According to Gates, forming a pandemic task force led at the World Health Organization (WHO) level would cost "tens of billions" in research and development and "probably about a billion a year."
In an interview in April 2017 (per the same The Independent report), he also claimed that almost three years before Covid-19 emerged, "advances in biology have made it far easier for a terrorist to recreate smallpox."
"Nobody would have predicted that [Dr. Fauci and I] would be so prominent in these really evil theories," Gates told Reuters.
RELATED ARTICLE: Smallpox Vaccines Might Work Against Monkeypox Outbreaks; 100 Million Doses Stashed by the US Available to Use
Check out more news and information on Monkeypox in Science Times.
