The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday advised the community of men who have sex with men to limit their exposure to the virus by reducing their number of sex partners and reconsidering sex with new partners, reported The Reuters.
The warning comes after the UN health body declared escalating outbreaks in multiple countries to be a global emergency. Over 18,000 cases of monkeypox have now been reported from 78 countries, with 70 percent of cases reported in Europe and 25 percent in the Americas.
The WHO chief reported that five deaths have been reported in the outbreak since May, and about 10 percent of those infected end up in hospital. He said 98% of the monkeypox cases detected had been among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. He called for those at risk to take steps to protect themselves.
“That means making safe choices for yourself and others, for men who have sex with men,” Tedros said. “This includes, for the moment, reducing your number of sexual partners.”
He advised that infectious individuals should isolate and avoid gatherings involving close physical contact, while people should get contact details for any new sexual partners in case they needed to follow up later.
“Anyone exposed can get monkeypox,” Tedros said.
He appealed countries to take immediate action to reduce the risk of transmission to other vulnerable groups, including children, pregnant women and those who with low immunity.
The UN health body has repeatedly warned against stigma around the disease, which could discourage those infected from seeking treatment.
Tedros said that stigma and discrimination can be as dangerous as any virus, and can fuel the outbreak.
WHO has recommended targeted vaccination for people who have come in contact with someone infected with the monkey pox virus or for those at high risk of exposure, including health workers and people with multiple sexual partners.
