WHO chief: Men who have sex with men should limit partners to slow monkeypox

The head of the World Health Organization has suggested men who have sex with men temporarily limit their number of sexual partners while monkeypox cases increase within their community — a shift in messaging from the global health agency, days after it raised its threat alert level for the monkeypox outbreak.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the comments Wednesday during a news briefing in which he said 98 percent of monkeypox cases have been reported in men who have sex with men.

Tedros said “this is an outbreak that can be stopped,” as long as governments take the appropriate measures and individuals stay informed and protect themselves from the 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,” Tedros said.

Since the monkeypox outbreak was first reported by the WHO in May, public health officials have sought to balance the need for outreach to the community experiencing the bulk of transmission and the desire not to stigmatize members of that community, or give the impression monkeypox exclusively affects men who have sex with men.

“Anyone exposed can get monkeypox,” Tedros said Wednesday, as he urged countries to “reduce the risk of transmission to other vulnerable groups,” including children, pregnant people and those with weak immune systems.

Still, as it has become clear monkeypox is, for now, mostly spreading among men who have sex with men.

Monkeypox mainly spreads through close physical contact between humans, although it can also be spread by a pregnant person to their fetus through the placenta, and when a person touches contaminated clothes and other items, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms of monkeypox infection include fever, muscle pain and a rash or pox-like blisters.