(StatePoint) The LGBTQ+ community celebrated their shared and lived experience this June during Pride Month. While the LGBTQ+ experience varies from individual to individual and from generation to generation, one constant remains – the importance of protecting health. “We celebrate Pride because we are proud of who we are, what we have accomplished and where we are heading in advancing health equity,” says Brian Hujdich, executive director of the National Coalition for LGBTQ Health.
“Part of protecting health – for ourselves and for the community – is focusing on prevention.” Following are three important preventive health measures to take not only during Pride season, but all year long. Prevent infectious diseases Mpox has remained a public health threat since it first captured headlines in 2022.
Infections in the United States are more than double those reported at this time last year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – and a surge in cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo could lead to further escalation globally.
A virus similar to smallpox, mpox can affect anyone. However, the recent outbreak predominantly affected the LGBTQ+ community, underscoring the need for prevention. According to the CDC, mpox is spread by direct skin-to-skin contact and people most at risk include gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, as well as transgender or nonbinary people.
Sixty percent of the at-risk population remains u.