A former World Health Organisation chief has said that the possibility the monkeypox virus was spread by sexual activity at raves in Europe is now 'a leading theory'.
It comes as the number of confirmed monkeypox cases in the UK more than doubled to 57, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA. Community Transmission between people is now occurring in the UK, with a large proportion of cases identified in men who have sex with other men. While monkeypox is not normally a sexually transmitted infection, it can be passed on by direct contact during sex.
Dr David Heymann, who formerly headed the WHO’s emergencies department, told the Associated Press that the leading theory out of many put forward to explain the spread of the disease was sexual transmission at raves in Europe. It comes after Enrique Ruiz Escudero, Madrid’s senior health official, said authorities are investigating possible links between a recent Gay Pride event in the Canary Islands - attended by around 80,000 people - and cases at a Madrid sauna, reports NBC news.
However, experts have cautioned against “misinformation, stigma and discrimination” around the condition. During a WHO Q&A, Andy Seale, an adviser with an HIV, hepatitis and STI programme, said: “There are ways that we can work with communities to learn from really decades of experience around tackling stigma and discrimination with HIV. We want to apply that lesson, those lessons learned, to this experience.”
There are 56 confirmed cases in England, and Scotland confirmed its first case on Monday. Northern Ireland’s Public Health Agency and Public Health Wales each said they have had no confirmed cases. Health officials said that while the outbreak is “significant and concerning”, the risk to the UK population remains low. The Government has stocks of the smallpox vaccine which is being offered to very close contacts of those affected.
Those at the highest risk of contracting the disease are being asked to self-isolate at home for 21 days, with others warned to be on the lookout for symptoms. Transmission between people is occurring in the UK, with a large proportion of cases identified in the gay, bisexual and men who have sex with other men community.
The Associated Press reported Prof David Heymann, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, as saying: “We know monkeypox can spread when there is close contact with the lesions of someone who is infected, and it looks like sexual contact has now amplified that transmission.”
The disease can also be spread through touching clothing, bedding or towels used by someone with the monkeypox rash, and through the coughs and sneezes of somebody with the infection. Monkeypox is usually mild but can cause severe illness in some cases.
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