WHO officials stressed that monkeypox can infect anyone in close contact with a patient or their contaminated clothing or bed linen. The UN health agency has warned that the disease could be more severe in vulnerable populations such as children or pregnant women. To date, more than 19,000 cases have been reported in more than 75 countries. deaths have been reported only in Africa. “We know very clearly that one of the main routes of exposure for this disease is through direct contact, close contact, skin-to-skin contact, possibly even face-to-face, exposure to droplets or viruses that may be in the mouth.” Dr Rosamund Lewis, WHO technical lead for monkeypox, said. Andy Seale, a WHO adviser on HIV, hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections, said experts have found that the current monkeypox outbreak is “clearly transmitted during sex”, but said they have not concluded even if it is a sexually transmitted infection. Dr Hugh Adler, who treats monkeypox patients in the UK, said that monkeypox is transmitted during sex and that sexual networks and anonymous sex with undetectable partners make it easier to spread. “It is equally possible that monkeypox has always been capable of transmitting and presenting like this, but it has not been formally reported or so widespread before,” he said. Last week, British authorities issued new guidance advising doctors that people with just one or two lesions could be infectious from monkeypox, potentially complicating efforts to stop transmission. The European Union’s health commissioner urged the bloc’s 27 member states on Wednesday to step up their efforts to tackle outbreaks in the EU, which she called “the epicenter of detected cases”. In a letter to European health ministers obtained by The Associated Press, EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides called for “reinforced, concerted and coordinated action.” “There is no time for complacency and we must continue to work together to control the epidemic,” he wrote. The Associated Press
