WHO Director Says Gay Men Should Limit Sexual Partners to Stop Spread of Monkeypox

The Director of the World Health Organization said the best way to stop the ongoing spread of the monkeypox disease is for “men who have sex with men” to limit sexual partners.

QUICK FACTS:
  • Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the current WHO chief, said that men should eliminate having sex with multiple other men in order to protect themselves from the monkeypox virus.
  • “For men who have sex with men, this includes for the moment, reducing your number of sexual partners, reconsidering sex with new partners, and exchanging contact details with any new partners to enable follow up if needed,” Gheybreyesus said.
  • The director also called on public health authorities to inform gay communities to help reduce the spread of monkeypox, while “protecting human rights by fighting stigma and discrimination,” CNBC reported.
WHO DIRECTOR ON THE MONKEYPOX OUTBREAK:

“Although I am declaring a public health emergency of international concern, for the moment this is an outbreak that is concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners,” said Ghebreyesus.

BACKGROUND:
  • Rosamund Lewis, the World Health Organization’s monkeypox expert, said that homosexual men are at the highest risk of infection, making up about 95% of the current cases.
  • Gheybreyesus urged social media platforms and tech companies to not allow “false information” regarding monkeypox to be spread, which he believes will further heighten the outbreak.
  • “The stigma and discrimination can be as dangerous as any virus and can fuel the outbreak,” he said. “As we have seen with COVID-19 misinformation, and this information can spread rapidly online.”

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