Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
UN Decries Stigmatizing Language In Monkeypox Coverage
Al Jazeera: UN Denounces ‘Racist’ And ‘Homophobic’ Coverage Of Monkeypox
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has warned that stigmatising language used in the coverage on the monkeypox virus could jeopardise public health, citing some portrayals of Africans and LGBTI people that “reinforce homophobic and racist stereotypes and exacerbate stigma." UNAIDS said “a significant proportion” of recent monkeypox cases have been identified among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. But transmission is most likely via close physical contact with a monkeypox sufferer and could affect anyone, it added, saying some portrayals of Africans and LGBTI people “reinforce homophobic and racist stereotypes and exacerbate stigma." (5/23)
Newsweek: The Dangerous Parallel Between Monkeypox And AIDS
David Heymann, a leading advisor to WHO, said the recent cases appear to have gotten into the population through sexual contact. He told the Associated Press earlier this week that the leading theory to explain the recent spread was sexual transmission at raves held in Spain and Belgium. That has led to some reporting that monkeypox can only be passed through sexual contact. On Fox News, Jesse Waters called monkeypox a "sexually transmitted disease" that is "primarily passed through homosexual sex." But an expert on sexually transmitted diseases at WHO has emphasized that monkeypox is "not a gay disease" and that anyone can contract it through close contact. (Rahman, 5/24)
More on the outbreak —
Los Angeles Times: Monkeypox In California: 1st State Case Likely In Sacramento
California’s first suspected case of monkeypox has been publicly reported in Sacramento County. The person, who recently traveled to Europe, is isolating at home and isn’t in contact with other people, health officials said Tuesday. During a briefing Tuesday morning, Sacramento County Public Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye said she was unable to provide the suspected patient’s gender or age but confirmed the person is a county resident. (Money and Lin II, 5/24)
Reuters: WHO Says Monkeypox 'Containable' As More Govts Start Limited Vaccinations
The outbreak of monkeypox cases outside of Africa can be contained, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, as more governments said they would launch limited vaccinations to combat rising infections of the virus. The moves came as authorities investigated 237 suspected and confirmed cases of the virus in 19 countries since early May. That number is expected to increase, WHO officials have said, but most of the infections so far have not been severe. (Rigby and Roy, 5/24)
NBC News: Monkeypox Symptoms: Veterinarian Who Got Virus Years Ago Describes Lesions, Flu-Like Symptoms
A veterinarian who contracted monkeypox during a U.S. outbreak in 2003 described the "scary" ordeal of becoming suddenly ill before authorities knew what was happening. Dr. Kurt Zaeske, who is now retired in Wisconsin, said he developed flu-like symptoms and lesions after coming into contact with a monkeypox-infected prairie dog through a client. Neither knew what had made the animal sick. (Silva, 5/24)
Groups working to dispel myths, misinformation about monkeypox —
Stat: How Google Is Trying To Keep Monkeypox Myths From Flourishing
Karen DeSalvo’s latest challenge came in the nanometer-sized envelope of a virus: monkeypox. Since becoming Google’s first chief health officer in 2019, DeSalvo has overseen many disparate programs, ranging from AI-enabled diagnostics to patient records. But increasingly, as the tech giant has rethought some of its biggest aims in health, losing a longtime executive and dissolving its dedicated health-focused division, her focus has shifted to consumers. (Mast, 5/24)
CNBC: CDC Says Monkeypox Doesn't Spread Easily By Air: ‘This Is Not Covid’
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants to calm public anxiety over how the monkeypox virus is transmitted, emphasizing that it doesn’t spread that easily through the air because it requires close contact with an infected person. Monkeypox is primarily spread through sustained physical contact such as skin-to-skin touch with someone who has an active rash, CDC officials said this week. The virus can also spread through contact with materials that have the virus on it like shared bedding and clothing. But it can spread through respiratory droplets as well, although not nearly as easily as Covid-19, they said. (Kimball, 5/24)
In global monkeypox news —
Bloomberg: Monkeypox: UK Study Points To One Drug That Might Help Counter Virus
At least one antiviral medicine shows promise against monkeypox and should be investigated further, scientists said as the outbreak widens. The finding is based on a single case that occurred in the UK before the current flare-up. The study, which calls for more research on a drug called tecovirimat, was published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. The study focused on seven cases of transmission outside of Africa, where the virus is considered endemic in a dozen countries. It suggests SIGA Technologies Inc.’s tecovirimat may be able to shorten symptoms and the amount of time people are contagious. The scientists said more work is needed to reach any conclusions but their study found little evidence that another drug, brincidofovir, was beneficial. (Paton, 5/24)
Axios: Germany Orders 40k Smallpox Vaccines After Reporting Monkeypox Cases
Germany's health minister said Tuesday the country has ordered 40,000 smallpox vaccine doses as a precaution after Germany and other countries reported multiple monkeypox infections, Reuters reports. Cases of monkeypox, a disease rarely seen outside of western and central African countries, have been recently reported in multiple European countries. The World Health Organization's (WHO) European chief said last week that those outbreaks could spread in the summer as people gather for parties and festivals. (Knutson, 5/24)
The Washington Post: As Monkeypox Panic Spreads, Doctors In Africa See A Double Standard
In a part of Nigeria that has dealt with monkeypox outbreaks for years, one doctor saw the photos circulating in Western media this week and chuckled. “Those are the very severe cases,” said Oyewale Tomori, a virologist in the nation’s southwest. “Like, ‘Ahh! This is monkeypox!’ ” ... What bothers infectious-disease experts across the continent is the double standard that has emerged since monkeypox grabbed the world’s attention: Few seemed to care, or even notice, until people in the West started getting sick. (Paquette and Ombuor, 5/24)
