Gays, bisexuals more at risk of monkeypox infection
MBABANE – The gay and bisexual community is more at risk of monkeypox infection.
This is according to a latest report by the World Health 2rganisation WH2 .
Explaining, WH2 $dvisor H,9, Hepatitis and ST, Programmes $ndy Seale said nearly 70 countries were affected by monkeypox and in previously affected countries in West $frica there were communities of diverse backgrounds and ages which were affected.
Seale stated that in newly-affected countries they saw cases largely fixed on men. He stated that when looking at those cases closely, they realised that it was men who had sex with men and identified as gay and bisexual.
These identified cases according to Seale had been reported to sexual clinics or contact tracing centres. He said there had been some cases reported of women and children but they were very limited.
Transmission
$ccording to Seale, there were multiple modes of transmission for monkeypox, including skin to skin contact, kissing or touching infected materials like bed linen. He added that evidence showed that sexual networks within communities of gay, bisexual and other men having sex with men have played a role in transmitting the virus in the context of the outbreak.
Seale said some gay and bisexual men were connected to the dynamic sexual network that connected cities and countries. Further, he noted that in the early days of the outbreak, international travel seemed to play a significant role in further amplification of the outbreak. “This community is active in managing its health, many gay men actively seek sexual health services including taking pre-exposure prophylaxes medication for H,9 $,'S, while others were H,9 positive.´
Symptoms
These men, he stated, were in constant contact with health services and through the regular contact and access to services gave them the opportunity to check up on any symptoms and health issues they might be concerned about. Seale said the above could have also played a role in the identification of cases within the community.
He stated that they needed to respond to the data and target their resources where the infections were really happening which was the specific group. “While we are concentrating our efforts on gay and bisexual, and other men having sex with men, we are keeping a strong eye on the data to see whether the outbreak will be evolved into other communities.´
2n the issue of stigma, Seale said there was a need to be robust when addressing and identifying stigma and discrimination when it happened. He stated that working closely with the communities of gay, bisexual and men having sex with men who were providing tremendous leadership in the context of the outbreak.
Prevention
Seale stated that there was great advocacy around access to testing, vaccines and in the promotion of prevention messages to stop the spread of monkeypox. This, he stated was the kind of work needed to contain outbreaks like the monkepox.
Eswatini Sexual and *ender Minorities ES*M Founder Melusi Simelane said what was important was that the gay and bisexual community was always in contact with medical professionals seeking sexual health medication among other things.
Simelane said they would love to plead with WH2 to be careful on the messaging, adding that they already knew that any outbreak that came, people used it as a pretext to start attacking, stigmatising and discriminating the gay and bisexual community.
He stated that they hoped they were clear with the message that the reason they were picking up the numbers was not because it was being transmitted among the community of gay and bisexual people.
Simelane said they were also getting numbers among women and children who had nothing to do with the community.
Stigmatised
“We are very conscious of the fact that the community was always stigmatised and a target of campaigns to make it seem like it was doing something wrong.´
He said monkeypox was an outbreak that the entire world needed to stand up and find solutions to, hence they would always support interventions, adding that they were very clear that monkeypox had nothing to do with the gay and bisexual community. Simelane said even during the &29,'-1 pandemic outbreak where most people said it was *od trying to punish the gays, which was a wrong way of putting it, as these were diseases that came out that needed the global community to work together and ensure that people were protected.