Will TV cover Monkeypox too?

SBS first covered news of Monkeypox in 2010 when cases circulated in West Africa.

But unlike Covid-19, which as a pandemic dominated television discussion in 2020 / 2021, most current affairs programmes are yet to devote attention to the disease in Australia.

Free to Air news bulletins plus 7:30, The Drum and The Project have all given airtime to the communicable disease, particularly when it was declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organisation in July.

But Four Corners, Insight, Foreign Correspondent, Dateline, Q+A, 60 Minutes and 7News Spotlight are yet to devote stories to the crisis, which is predominately affecting gay and bisexual men.

As of 1 September 2022there are 124 cases (confirmed and probable) of MPX in Australia: 64 in Victoria, 48 in New South Wales, 5 in Western Australia, 3 in Queensland, 2 in the Australian Capital Territory, and 2 in South Australia. There is a globally limited supply of the JYNNEOS vaccine and high international demand, with  around 20,000 doses expected to be delivered in September in Australia. Symptoms of monkeypox can include a rash, fever, chills, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, and exhaustion.

ABC & SBS spokespersons could not detail if upcoming programming planned to cover the story.

Dept of Health: MPX health alert
ACONHealth: Monkeypox
WHO: Monkeypox fact sheet