No, Monkeypox and AidsAre Not the Same Diseases, Facebook User's Claim About VAIDS Is False

No, Monkeypox and AidsAre Not the Same Diseases, Facebook User's Claim About VAIDS Is False

A Facebook user recently claimed that monkeypox and Aids present themselves the same way. The user also made startling allegations about the Covid-19 vaccine's side effects. Briefly News takes a look at the validity of the claims made by the social media user.

PAY ATTENTION: Update Briefly News App for free: the old version will be disabled soon

A social media user has made a few damning allegations about monkeypox and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and unconfirmed claims about a new disease called VAIDS - Aids that has been contracted after taking the Covid-19 vaccine.

Taking to Facebook, the user posted three images and in the first image, they stated that it is a photo of someone in Africa who has monkeypox. The second photo is claimed to be an image of someone who is showing symptoms of Aids and the last is said to be the first who contracted monkeypox this year.

Read also

10 Inventions created by South Africans that left a lasting impact on the world

Fact check, Monkeypox, Vaids, AIDS, shingles
Monkeypox is a disease that causes lesions on the body and is usually endemic in African countries. Image: Getty Images/Stock Photo
Source: Getty Images

The post reads:

"Monkeypox is VAIDS. Look at the pics below. 1st - Pic is monkeypox in Africa. 2nd - Pic is Aids. 3rd - Pic is what the first person this year that got monkeypox looks like. Also, the other internal symptoms are identical too."

PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Briefly News on your News Feed!

Have a look at the images here.

Are the Facebook images proof that AIDS and monkeypox are the same diseases?

Monkeypox has been making headlines in the past few weeks after multiple breakouts were reported in European countries and the United States of America. Monkeypox mostly occurs in African countries and breakouts in areas the disease is not endemic to have caused some panic.

Monkeypox is a disease that is closely related to diseases such as smallpox. It is normally transmitted from animals to human beings and some of the symptoms include lesions on the body.

Read also

People of Mzansi seem to be silent ballers as 60 000 SA people joined the millionaires club in 2021

Aids, on the other hand, is an illness that is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Aids occurs when HIV goes untreated. According to the CDC, people who have Aids have a compromised immune system, which makes their bodies unable to fight infections.

By definition, monkeypox and Aids are not the same disease and are also not caused by the same virus.

According to AfricaCheck, the first image is indeed a child who has monkeypox. Through a reverse image search, it was found that the image has been used by the CDC for one of its informational articles on monkeypox.

The second image shows a person who has shingles and the image appeared in an article about shingles. According to the Mayo Clinic, shingles is a viral infection that causes a very painful rash on the body. It is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox after a person has recovered from a chickenpox infection.

Read also

Fire at Steve Biko Academic Hospital wendy house under investigation by Gauteng Department of Health

People who have Aids run the risk of getting a shingles infection because of their compromised immune system.

The last image is a picture of someone who has back and shoulder acne. AfricaCheck reports that the image has been circulating on the internet since 2019, way before the new cases of monkeypox were reported.

What is VAIDS? Is it a real disease?

There have been conspiracy theories circulating about the dangers of the Covid-19 vaccine. Some of these theories have made the claim that one of the side-effects of the vaccine is Aids, hence the name VAIDS or vaccine-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Speaking to Reuters, Dr Stephen Gluckman, professor of infectious diseases in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in the US, says VAIDS is not a real condition.

He went on to say that there is no evidence that shows that Aids can be caused by the coronavirus vaccine.

Read also

Fact Check: No proof vitamin D can prevent coronavirus infection

What's the verdict?

The social media post is spreading false information about serious medical conditions. Monkeypox and Aids are not the same diseases and are not caused by the same viruses. In addition, VAIDS is not a real side-effect of the Covid-19 vaccine and does not exist.

Explained: What is monkeypox and should South Africans be concerned about a possible outbreak?

Briefly News previously reported that people across the globe have been raising concerns about monkeypox after many news reports indicated that there is an outbreak of the disease in a few countries, which include the United States of America, the United Kingdom and some European countries.

It seems as though some people have little knowledge about monkeypox, which has led to some panic about the recent outbreaks.

What is monkeypox?

Monkeypox is a virus that is closely related to diseases such as chickenpox, cowpox and smallpox and is normally transmitted from animals to human beings. The name monkeypox was first adopted in 1958 after research monkeys were found to have the disease.

PAY ATTENTION: check out news exactly for YOU ➡️ find "Recommended for you" block and enjoy!

Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Lebogang Mashego avatar

Lebogang Mashego (Current Affairs HOD) Lebogang Mashego runs the Current Affairs desk. She joined the Briefly News team in 2021. She has 6 years of experience in the journalism field. Her journalism career started while studying at Rhodes University, where she worked for the Oppidan Press for 3 years. She worked as a lifestyle writer and editor at W24 and Opera News. She graduated with a BA degree majoring in Journalism and Media Studies in 2017. She's a recipient of the INMA Elevate Scholarship. Email: lebogang.mashego@briefly.co.za

Tags: