Amid the outbreak of monkeypox, the WHO on Wednesday gave clear advice to the group most affected by the disease – men who have sex with men – to reduce the number of sexual partners.
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The best way to protect yourself “is to reduce your risk of exposure to the disease,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a press conference in Geneva.
“For men who have sex with men, for now, this also means reducing the number of their sexual partners and sharing information with each new partner so that they can be contacted if symptoms arise,” so that they can self-isolate, explained Dr . Tedros, who raised his organization’s highest alert on Saturday to contain the disease.
Since the beginning of May, more than 18,000 cases of monkeypox have been identified worldwide outside of endemic areas in Africa. The disease has been reported in 78 countries so far, and 70% of the cases are concentrated in Europe and 25% in America, the WHO head said.
Five people have died from the disease – all in Africa – and about 10% of cases require hospitalization to try to relieve patients’ pain.
“This message to reduce the number of partners comes from the communities themselves,” said Andy Seale, who at WHO is responsible for getting the message across to the population that is now almost exclusively affected: men, more likely young people who have sex with men, and especially those who multiply the number of partners.
Andy Seale recognizes that such a recommendation cannot be effective over a long period of time and that it must also be accompanied by accurate information on symptoms, testing and easy access to a doctor if in doubt to self-isolate as quickly as possible .
Monkeypox is not currently considered a sexually transmitted disease and anyone can contract it. Direct skin contact, but also infected sheets or clothing are carriers of the disease.
WHO also strongly emphasizes the need to avoid any stigmatization of a particular community, which could lead its members to hide the disease, not seek treatment and spread it further.