This was announced by the director of the World Health Organization (WHO) this Wednesday (27th). Men who have sex with men — such as gays, bisexuals, and sex workers — reduce the number of their sexual partners at this point to reduce their risk of exposure to monkeypox (monkeypox).
In opening remarks at a press conference on the disease, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also reiterated that “Stigma and discrimination can be as dangerous as any virus and fuel the outbreak“.
He urged communities and individuals to do their research and take the risks seriously Take the necessary measures to disrupt the transmission and protect vulnerable groups.
“The best way to do this is to reduce the risk of exposure. That means making safe decisions for yourself and other new partners, and sharing contact details with new partners to enable followup if necessary,” Tedros said.
The director emphasized that “Although 98% of cases so far are in men who have sex with men, Anyone who is exposed can get monkeypox“.
“The focus for all countries must be to include and empower communities of men who have sex with men to reduce the risk of infection and onward transmission, care for those infected and protect human rights and dignity.”
Tedros recalled that monkeypox can be spread not only through sexual contact, but also through close humantohuman contact such as hugs and kisses, and on contaminated towels or bedding in homes.
More than 18,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported to the WHO in 78 countries, including 5 deaths. More than 70% of the reported cases come from Europe and 25% from America.
The WHO director also spoke about the vaccines available to prevent monkeypox. The disease has no specific vaccine, but vaccines developed against smallpox help protect against it.
There are currently three vaccines against the disease: one used in Canada, the United States and the European Union (MVABN, by the Bavarian Nordic Laboratory), one approved only in the United States (ACAM2000) and one third, developed in Japan, which can be used in children (LC16).
“However, we still don’t have data on the effectiveness of monkeypox vaccines or how many doses may be needed,” said Tedros, who also noted that vaccine protection is not instantaneous.
Tedros reminded that the WHO recommends targeted vaccination of people who have been exposed to someone with monkeypox and those at high risk of exposure including medical workers, some laboratory workers and people with multiple sexual partners.
“At this time we do not recommend mass vaccination against monkeypox,” the director said.
“This means that vaccinates must continue to take steps to protect themselves by avoiding close contact, including sex, with others who have or are at risk of having monkeypox,” he recalled.
One of the problems is the availability of vaccines: according to Tedros, there are about 16 million doses of them MVA BN worldwide. However, most are in “bulk” form meaning it would take several months to fill the cans and make them available for use.
“Several countries with monkeypox cases have secured supplies of MVABN vaccine and WHO is in contact with other countries to understand their supply needs. WHO urges countries that have monkeypox vaccines to share them with countries that don’t,” Tedros asked.