Antonius Minniefield, a 26-year-old same-gender loving man who lives in Atlanta, has been an HIV advocate since he was diagnosed with HIV at age 12, working for years as an HIV peer counselor. When he was diagnosed with MPV in July, he put his HIV advocacy skills to use to help others get the information and services they needed.
When Antonius first noted a skin discoloration in early July, he sought help from two different doctors in Atlanta, both of whom told him it wasn’t MPV. Owing a visit to his mom, he hopped on a plane to Arkansas.
He began experiencing “sweats, chills, pain and discomfort in weird places” as well as acute diarrhea. What had begun as a single pustule that his doctors misdiagnosed rapidly spread across his body. He went to an emergency room in Arkansas, where he stayed for 16 hours. Doctors there diagnosed his MPV (although it took several days before he received his definitive positive test result), admitted him to the hospital and started him on TPOXX. After staying in the hospital for five days, Antonius was discharged to quarantine at his mom’s house. He wound up staying in Arkansas for 28 days.
At the time, Antonius was the second person in Arkansas who had been diagnosed with MPV. During his quarantine, Antonius and his mom were rigorous about infection control, including masking, hand washing, and washing bed linens and towels.
“I was very lonely and very bored [during quarantine],” Antonius said, so he began reaching out to friends and acquaintances and telling them about his MPV diagnosis. He began telling his story on social media. “I started posting and coming up with my own clever hashtags. I would always include a link to the CDC.”
Antonius found he was pretty good at providing information and advice through social media. “People on social media love a witty, cute person, and I’m witty and cute,” he said, with a grin. “I decided to use that to my advantage.”
Antonius discovered that people had lots of questions about MPV and looked to him for advice. Making contact with more than 150 people, he helped people find where they could get tested for MPV and, if positive, receive treatment. Several people decided to get the vaccine with Antonius’ encouragement. “The reactions I’ve gotten [from my social media presence] have ranged from positive to very negative. Some people wonder why I’m being so open about things. But, at the same time, I’ve met such beautiful people” who have reacted with love, kindness and gratitude.
In addition to helping his social media contacts, Antonius learned a lot as well. “I learned about the perception that people have about public health authorities, why so many Black people have distrust towards the CDC. We sometimes glaze over that, but we can’t forget about that.”
Antonius is grateful that he didn’t experience especially severe symptoms. He was also smart about following his employer’s rules for sick leave, which meant that his flight attendant job was waiting for him after he recovered.
He also has advice for anyone who gets an MPV diagnosis. “If you get MPV, you are going to be by yourself a lot. You can dislike yourself and beat yourself up or you can decide to love yourself.”