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Man believes he contracted monkeypox in Florida, shares experience on TikTok

Brian Thomas, a nurse, tested positive for monkeypox after attending Ft. Lauderdale Pride. He is now using social media to spread awareness about the disease.

FT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Brian Thomas is on the mend. He tested positive for monkeypox at the end of June after visiting Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. 

"I'm on day 13," Thomas told 10 Tampa Bay. "I feel great honestly, I feel ok, just dealing with the remnants of the legions healing."

In addition to those lesions, Thomas has felt the full range of monkeypox symptoms. 

"I had a fever," Thomas said. "I had sweats and chills, body aches. I was really tired."

Monkeypox is transmitted through close physical contact. He believes he contracted the virus while attending Pride events in Ft. Lauderdale.

"I went to a lot of nightclubs. I was definitely, you know, close to a lot of people and in a lot of different areas of the city," Thomas said.

Monkeypox is still spreading predominantly among the LGBTQ+ community, specifically gay men, but anyone can contract this virus.

"I think it's important for people to know that the high-risk population right now are gay and bisexual men,"  Thomas said. "Although this is not a gay disease, it is a disease that is affecting our populations the most."

That kind of information about the virus is what Thomas is now sharing on TikTok. He has documented his recovery journey each day, showing his healing process and responding to viewers who have questions about the disease. 

Asked what prompted him to share his experience on TikTok, Thomas told 10 Tampa Bay, "My TikTok following and platform is already based on the destigmatization of HIV. I'm an HIV-positive healthcare worker, so when I was diagnosed with monkeypox I knew I should share it with my followers because there are people in the country being diagnosed right now and no one was really talking about it."

RELATED: US officials announce 'aggressive' steps against monkeypox outbreak

Dr. Jill Roberts, a USF professor and expert in epidemiology, applauds his efforts, saying awareness and education are necessary to curb the spread of this disease.

"There's been some shifting thinking about whether this is a very easy-to-control outbreak or if this is something that is quickly getting out of hand, and I would say if this is something that's quickly getting out of hand, unfortunately," Roberts said.

One positive update is that testing is now more widely available. 

"One of the best pieces of information that happened in the last day or so is that we’ve gotten a confirmation that the commercial laboratories can now test for [monkeypox]. So that’s huge," Roberts said. "Now, when you have to pick up from a commercial lab, we’ve got about double the capacity that we did just a few days ago."

The smallpox vaccine defends against monkeypox, and efforts to roll out more vaccines are underway.

"There's an older smallpox vaccine that's been stockpiled. Those vaccines have been released," Roberts said. "There's sort of the newer generation vaccine that's available as well. It's available in short supply, but there are efforts on going to get more doses,"

Monkeypox initially presents with similar symptoms to the flu.

"But the real big hallmark of this is a rash," Roberts said. 

Dr. Roberts advises people to visit their healthcare provider if they are concerned they may have contracted monkeypox. 

RELATED: White House announces roll out of monkeypox vaccine

RELATED: Monkeypox cases double in Pinellas and Polk counties

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