Amid a rise in the global cases of the monkeypox virus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday recommended that at-risk men limit their sexual partners to reduce their risk of exposure.
More than 18,000 monkeypox cases have now been reported to WHO from 78 countries as well as five deaths in Africa.
The best way to reduce the risk of exposure is “making safe choices for yourselves and others”, said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“For men who have sex with men, this includes for the moment, reducing your sexual partners.”
He also asked them to reconsider having sex with new partners.
Although 98 percent of cases are among men who have sex with men, the WHO Director-General stressed anyone can get exposed to monkeypox.
ALSO READ: Monkeypox hits Europe, Americas hardest: WHO
“Transmission can also happen in households through close contact with people such as hugging, kissing, and using contaminated towels or bedding,” Ghebreyesus said.
“This is an outbreak that can be stopped if countries, communities, and individuals take steps needed to stop transmission and protect vulnerable groups including children, pregnant women, and the immunosuppressed.”
He also stressed the need to avoid that stigma and discrimination which can be “as dangerous as any virus and can fuel the outbreak”.
While mass vaccination is not recommended at this time, the WHO recommends vaccines for those exposed to someone with monkeypox and those at high risk of exposure including health workers and lab workers as well as those with multiple sexual partners.
Ghebreyesus also called out against misinformation about the disease spreading online.
“As we have seen with Covid-19 misinformation,” it can spread rapidly online, he said, “so we call on social media platforms, tech companies, and news organizations to work with us to prevent and counter harmful information”.
(This story has been sourced from a third-party syndicated feed, agencies. Raavi Media accepts no responsibility or liability for the dependability, trustworthiness, reliability, and data of the text. Raavi Media managementythisnews.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content at its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.)
