Writer : Ikhsan Abdul Hakim | Editor : Edy A. Putra
LONDON, KOMPAS.TV – British health authorities report that monkeypox is increasingly prevalent in the country. London says cases of monkeypox are generally found in gay, bisexual men, or men who have had sex with other men.
The UK Health Security Service also urged people who have a new sexual partner or have a history of having multiple sexual partners to be aware of the symptoms of monkeypox.
According to a technical briefing released Friday, the UK’s Health Security Service said their data showed monkeypox spread in “sexual networks that are defined as gay, bisexual or men who have sex with men.”
The health authority said there were no signs indicating monkeypox was spreading outside that population.
Also Read: UNAIDS: Don’t Let the Monkeypox Outbreak Be Difficult to Do Because of Stigma!
Of the 810 cases of monkeypox found in Great Britain as of Friday (24/6), only five cases were female.
Among the patients who took the detailed survey, 96 percent of the patients were gay, bisexual, or men who had sex with other men. Great Britain itself is the country with the highest number of monkeypox spreads outside of the African continent.
“If you are concerned that you may have monkeypox, don’t go to events, meet friends or have sexual contact,” says director of clinical infection at the UK Health Security Service, dr. Meera Chand quoted Associated Press.
He further appealed to Britons with lesions or rashes suspected of having monkeypox to check with sexual health clinics and avoid contact with other people before being tested.
Chand said that anyone who had close physical contact with a carrier of the monkeypox virus was at risk of contracting the disease, regardless of their sexual orientation.
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