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They need to enlighten without stigmatizing anyone.” They need to take a look at how they’re communicating this. “Yet that’s exactly what a lot of gay men are seeing right now in the language from the health minister and Robert Koch Institute. “It’s really important to avoid panic and stigmatization,” said Markus Ulrich, a spokesman for Germany’s Lesbian and Gay Federation. Lauterbach’s comments on the outbreak reflect the often-tricky position for health officials who want to warn populations that they think are particularly vulnerable to a disease without at the same time demonizing them. No deaths have been reported among the current cases.Ī German government report to lawmakers this week said four of Germany’s confirmed cases were linked to exposure “at party events including on Gran Canaria and in Berlin, where sexual activity took place.” Gran Canaria, or Grand Canary, is one of the Canary Islands. The World Health Organization says that, historically, up to 11% of people with monkeypox have died from it, with the rate higher among children. Most patients recover from the disease on their own, without hospitalization, within two to four weeks of the onset of symptoms. Monkeypox is garnering increased attention because outbreaks and cases are showing up in areas where they don’t usually occur. is watching out for this rare but potentially serious illness Although health officials are keeping a close eye on the outbreak, the caseload is minuscule compared with the 528 million coronavirus infections of the COVID-19 pandemic.īut as reports of the disease grab headlines, along with suggestions that the spread could be linked to a huge gay pride event in Spain’s Canary Islands, off the coast of Africa, some LGBTQ people and organizations are bracing for a backlash.Ĭalifornia Monkeypox: Why L.A. Nearly 200 confirmed monkeypox cases have been reported in more than 20 countries outside Africa, where the virus is mostly found - including the first likely case in California, in Sacramento County, earlier this week. The singling out has sparked fears that gay and bisexual men, who appear to account for most of Europe’s monkeypox cases so far, are once again in danger of being stigmatized as carriers of an exotic and frightening disease, just as they were during the AIDS crisis.
Then, in a further comment that set different alarm bells ringing, the bulletin pointedly warned men who have sex with men to “seek immediate medical attention” if they detect signs of the disease.
In a May 19 alert, the agency listed telltale symptoms of monkeypox: fever, aches, a rash. As mysterious cases of a rare and ominously named virus began surfacing in Europe, Germany’s disease control center quickly told people to be on the lookout.