Picture of skin lesions caused by monkeypox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. photo EFE
Amid a spate of monkeypox cases in the UK, the country’s authorities recommended Tuesday accelerate the vaccination of “high-risk” homosexuals. to control the disease. It refers to those who have sex with more than one man.
The suggestion came from UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA), an organization which has warned that although anyone can contract the virus, most of the infections recorded occurred in homosexual and bisexual men.
Concern in the country has increased after it has been there for the past four days a 38% increase in the cases: up to 16 June 574 were affected and by the 20 of the same month they amounted to 793.
The WHO has made it clear that monkeypox disease “can affect anyone”, to avoid discriminatory attitudes.
For this reason, the health agency recommended extending the vaccination to men who have sex with other men in order to “fight the spread of the disease”.
While not all the criteria that will be considered have been specified yet, they stressed that the priority would be to start with those that keep “group sex”.
In this sense, the vaccine has so far only been offered to healthcare professionals and close contacts of a confirmed case, who are at high risk of infection.
An image of a person struck by the 1997 monkey virus in Congo, released on Monday. Photo: AFP
In this regard, the World Health Organization pointed out that the available evidence suggests that people at greatest risk are those who have had a close physical contact with someone with monkeypox, and that the risk “is not limited to men who have sex with men.
The explanation of the experts on this measure
Commenting on the new ruling in the UK, Dr Mary Ramsay, UKHSA’s head of immunization, said the move should help control the outbreak.
“Our extensive contact tracing work has helped limit the spread of the monkeypox virus, but we continue to see a substantial percentage of cases in gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men,” he said despite the United Nations warning that warned about homophobia triggered by the disease.
He added: “By expanding the supply of vaccines to the people most at risk, we hope breaking the chains of transmission and containing the epidemic“, He predicted, noting that all citizens must remain vigilant for any new spots, ulcers or blisters on the body, ‘especially those who have been with a new partner‘.
Sample of a monkeypox virion obtained from a 2003 clinical specimen. Photo CDC / Cynthia S. Goldsmith.
The measure was welcomed by many experts, who stressed that the epidemic is not under control and that homosexuals must be vaccinated to fight it.
However, they pointed this out the stigma around the disease can be a challenge in contact tracing. A position with which the British health authorities have agreed.
The UN has warned about homophobia due to monkeypox
The United Nations Program dedicated to HIV, Onusida, had warned days ago of its concern for “representations that reinforce the homophobic and racist stereotypes” of the relationship that has been established with LGBTIQ + people with cases of monkeypox.
The body called for the response of the media, governments and communities to be based “on a rights-based and evidence-based approach” that avoids stigmatization of these groups, the UN news website reported.
“The lessons from the AIDS response show that stigma and blame directed at certain groups of people can quickly undermine the response to the epidemic,” said program experts.
The UN has warned that such representations reinforce homophobic and racist stereotypes and exacerbate stigma.
DD
Source: Clarin
