Africa’s top health body on Thursday rejected reports that suggests that many of the monkeypox cases reported in African countries are in men who have sex with men, reported Africa News.
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) warned against “any stigmatization” that might delay reporting of cases and affect the outbreak response.
Notably, more than 70 per cent of the world’s monkeypox cases are in Europe, and 98 per cent are in men who have sex with men, though health officials have said the virus can infect anyone who is in close, physical contact with an infected individual, their clothing or bedsheets.
However, Ahmed Ogwell, the acting director of Africa’s health body, told reporters that the indicator is not relevant in the African context. Consensual same-sex relations is criminalized to some extent in majority of the African countries.
Ogwell was asked if his agency had no statistics on how many gay or bisexual people in Africa reported monkeypox then how he could rule it out as a factor in the current outbreak. He said it’s not an issue in Africa.
“We don’t want to make it an issue because we have serious outbreaks to manage and don’t want to get into a discussion that will distract us (from preparedness and response),” he said.
Ogwell said African health officials have been collecting data on monkeypox since 1970 and no evidence have been found of any specific group of persons being affected by the virus. He said the drivers of this outbreak includes close contact in confined spaces and living in communities in contact with animals that have the virus.
The director of Africa’s top health body warned that all communities, all ages, all genders are at risk.
He also said the continent still doesn’t have any doses of monkeypox vaccines, though discussions continue with a number of countries and institutions on obtaining them. He said monekypox testing kits are also needed.
