UNAIDS warned Sunday that the homophobic and racist slip-ups sometimes seen in commentary about monkeypox could “quickly undermine the fight against the epidemic.”
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A significant proportion of the approximately 100 cases of monkeypox confirmed by WHO or national health authorities affect gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men, UNAIDS notes and says the disease is contracted through close contact with a sick person and “can therefore affect anyone”.
“These stigmas and finger-pointing undermine confidence and the ability to respond effectively to epidemics like this,” said UNAIDS Deputy Director Matthew Kavanagh.
The UN agency, which draws on a long history of AIDS, believes this type of rhetoric can very quickly neutralize science-and-fact-based efforts to fight the disease.
These racist or homophobic attacks “create a cycle of fear that causes people to avoid health centers, which limits the scope of efforts to identify cases of infection and encourages ineffective coercive measures,” the official points out.
Monkeypox, a less dangerous cousin of smallpox, eradicated some forty years ago, causes a high fever and quickly progresses to a scabbing rash, especially on the face.
There is no treatment, but this viral infection will heal on its own.
At least a dozen European countries have reported cases of monkeypox, as well as Australia, Canada and the United States, countries where it is uncommon. It is usually present in 11 African countries and is considered “endemic”.