WHO chief advises reducing sex partners to avoid monkeypox
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization
GENEVA (AP) — The head of the World Health Organization on Wednesday advised men at risk of catching monkeypox to consider reducing their sexual partners “for the moment” following the United Nations health agency declaring the escalating outbreaks in multiple countries to be a global emergency.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 98% of the monkeypox cases detected since the outbreaks emerged in May have 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.”
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 need to follow up later, the WHO chief said.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not suggested that men who have sex with men reduce their sexual partners, only that they avoid skin-to-skin contact with people who have a rash that could be monkeypox.
WHO officials emphasised that monkeypox can infect anyone in close contact with a patient or their contaminated clothing or bed sheets.
The UN health agency has warned that the disease could be more severe in vulnerable populations like children or pregnant women.
To date, more than 19,000 cases have been reported in more than 75 countries; deaths have only been reported in Africa.
“We know very clearly that one of the main modes of exposure for this particular illness is through direct contact, close contact, skin to skin contact, possibly even face-to-face contact, exposure to droplets or virus that may be in the mouth,” Dr Rosamund Lewis, the WHO’s technical lead for monkeypox, said.