As Monkeopox cases increase worldwide, the World Health Organization called on Wednesday the group currently most affected by the virus, men who have sex with men, to limit their sexual partners.The WHO, Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who last Saturday declared Monkeypox a global health emergency, told journalists that the best way to protect against infection was to “reduce the risk of exposure.”
“For men who have sex with men, this includes, at the moment, reduce their number of sexual partners, reconsider sex with new couples and exchange contact data with any new couple to allow monitoring if necessary,” he said .An increase in Monkeypox infections has been informed since the beginning of May outside Western and Central Africa where the disease has been endemic for a long time.
Tedros said Wednesday that more than 18,000 cases of MonkeoPox have been reported to the WHO of 78 countries, with 70 percent of the cases reported in Europe and 25 percent in the Americas.Five deaths have been reported since May, and about 10 percent of those infected end up in the hospital to control the pain, he said.
98 percent of cases have occurred in men who have sex with men.A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine last week found that 98 percent of infected people were homosexual or bisexual men, and 95 percent of cases were transmitted through sexual activity.Experts say that the transmission of the disease, which causes an abrasing eruption, seems to occur mainly during close and physical contact, and so far it has not been labeled as a sexually transmitted infection (STIs).
Experts also warn that only a community can be affected by the disease, emphasizing that it spreads through regular skin to skin contact, and also through drops or playing bedding or contaminated towels in a domestic environment”Any exposed person can obtain Monkeoypox,” Tedros said, urging countries to “take measures” to reduce the risk of transmission to other vulnerable groups, including children, pregnant women and those who are immunosuppressed.WHO has repeatedly warned of stigma around the disease, which could deter those infected with treatment. Stigma and discrimination can be as dangerous as any virus and can feed the outbreak,” Tedros said.
Andy Seale, from the sexually transmitted infections program, emphasized that messaging around the need for homosexual and bisexual men to reduce their number of sexual partners “came from the communities themselves.”He said this was possibly just “a short -term message, since we hope that the outbreak, of course, is short duration.”
He stressed that other measures would also be needed to reduce the number of cases, including the spread of information on the symptoms to be taken into account and the need to quickly isolate and access to tests and medications. No mass vaccination Who also recommends specific vaccination for those exposed to someone with Monkeoypox or for those with a high risk of exposure, including health workers and those with multiple sexual partners.
“At this time, we do not recommend mass vaccination against Monkeoypox,” Tedros said.It has been found that the vaccines initially developed against smallpox, the much more fatal cousin of Monkeopox, which was eradicated more than four decades ago, it has been found to protect against the virus, but the soaps are scarce.Tedros also stressed that “vaccination will not give instant protection against infection or disease, and can have been several weeks.”
As for the supply challenges, he said that there were around 16 million doses of the main vaccine, of the Danish drug manufacturer Bavarian Nordic, but that most of them were in bulk shape.”It will take several months to fill and finish in vials that are ready to use,” he said, urging countries that have already secured doses to share.”We must guarantee equitable access to vaccines for all people and communities affected by MonkeoPox in all countries,