The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday advised men at risk of contracting monkeypox to consider reducing their sexual partners “for now” after the UN health agency declared the virus a global health emergency , reports The Associated Press.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 98 percent of monkeypox cases since the May outbreak were among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. He asked those at risk to take measures to protect themselves.
“This means making safe choices for yourself and others, for men who have sex with men. Thus, for the time being, the reduction in the number of sexual partners is included,” he emphasized.
Infectious people should isolate themselves and avoid gatherings involving close physical contact, and people should get information about any new sexual partners in case, the WHO chief also said.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not suggest that men who have sex with men reduce their number of sexual partners, only that they avoid skin-to-skin contact with people who have a rash that could be monkeypox.
WHO officials pointed out that monkeypox can infect anyone in close contact with an infected person or with contaminated clothing or bedding.
The WHO warned that the disease could be more serious among the vulnerable population, such as children or pregnant women.
“We know very clearly that one of the main modes of exposure for this particular disease is direct contact, close contact, skin-to-skin contact, possibly even face-to-face contact, exposure to splashes or viruses that may be in the mouth,” said Dr. Rosamund Lewis, WHO technical officer for monkeypox.
Andy Seale, WHO adviser on HIV, hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections, said experts had determined that the current outbreak of monkeypox was “clearly sexually transmitted” but had not concluded whether it was an infection with sexually transmitted or not.
Dr. Hugh Adler, who treats monkeypox patients in Britain, said that monkeypox is transmitted during sexual intercourse, and sexual intercourse and intercourse with strangers facilitate the spread of the virus.
“It’s just as likely that monkeypox has always been transmitted and presented this way, but it wasn’t officially reported or that widespread before,” he added.
The European Commissioner in charge of Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, urged, on Wednesday, the 27 member states to intensify their efforts to combat the outbreaks in the EU, which she called “the epicenter of the detected cases”.
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