WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 98% of the monkeypox cases detected since the outbreaks emerged in May have been among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. He called for those at risk to take steps to protect themselves, according to AP report. Tedros said, “that means making safe choices for yourself and others, for men who have sex with men," adding that “this includes, for the moment, reducing your number of sexual partners."
The WHO chief further informed that the infectious individuals should isolate and avoid gatherings involving close, physical contact, while people should get contact details for any new sexual partners in case they need to follow up later.
It is important to note that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not suggested that men who have sex with men reduce their sexual partners, only that they avoid skin-to-skin contact with people who have a rash that could be monkeypox. As per the report, WHO officials emphasized that monkeypox can infect anyone in close contact with a patient or their contaminated clothing or bedsheets. The UN health agency has warned that the disease could be more severe in vulnerable populations like children or pregnant women.
So far, over 19,000 cases have been reported in more than 75 countries, while deaths have only been reported in Africa. Dr Rosamund Lewis, WHO's technical lead for monkeypox, said, “we know very clearly that one of the main modes of exposure for this particular illness is through direct contact, close contact, skin to skin contact, possibly even face to face contact, exposure to droplets or virus that may be in the mouth."
Andy Seale, a WHO adviser on HIV, hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections, said experts have determined the current monkeypox outbreak is “clearly transmitted during sex," but he said they have not yet concluded whether it's a sexually transmitted infection, according to AP report.
(With inputs from AP)
