Luxembourg: Beware of the stigma – monkeypox can affect anyone

published27. June 2022, 14:36

LUXEMBOURG – According to the Green MPs Hansen and Lorsché, there are problems with official communication regarding monkeypox. The Ministry of Health denies the alleged stigmatization of homosexual men.

There are now three registered infected people in Luxembourg.

REUTERS

Informative or stigmatizing? Communication on the spreading monkeypox virus is the subject of a current parliamentary question from Green MPs Marc Hansen and Josée Lorsché. “It has been claimed that men who have sex with men are at high risk,” the two write. Last Friday, the Ministry of Health informed of two new cases of monkeypox in the Grand Duchy and reiterated that the transmission came regarding through “close and intimate contact” and that “the vast majority of those currently affected” are homosexual men.

MEPs Hansen and Lorsché admitted in their question that while men who have had sex with men are currently more likely to be infected, they believe the authorities should warn that “monkeypox is caused by close contact between people, particularly within the same household , be transmitted. Including through sexual intercourse and regardless of sexual orientation».

«Communication geared towards sexual orientation is doubly counterproductive»

99.4 percent of those infected in the European Economic Area this year were men, the health ministry said in its response. Of all cases in which a sexual orientation was specified, 99.4 percent were men who had sex with other men – but in two thirds of the cases there was no information at all. “So it’s true that basically everyone can become infected with the virus,” says the Santé. Nevertheless, the Ministry believes that «its communication is fully consistent with the communication of the WHO and the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention and in no way aims to stigmatize people but to give factual information to protect them ».

“Communication that is geared towards sexual orientation is counterproductive in two respects,” believe Marc Hansen and Josée Lorsché. Homosexuals might hide their monkeypox disease for fear of discrimination, while the rest of the population didn’t even feel concerned and “neglected the necessary protective measures”. In France, the Ile-de-France Regional Health Agency (ARS) has confirmed in the last few hours a first confirmed case of monkeypox in a child attending a primary school. No further details regarding those affected are known in Luxembourg. Possibly for good reason. “Members of the LGBTQI+ community have pointed to the beginnings of the AIDS crisis, which led to stigmatization of bisexual or gay men,” said the déi Gréng MPs.

If you have symptoms or suspect monkeypox infection, avoid close contact with others and seek medical attention as soon as possible. By the end of the year, Luxembourg is to receive 2,500 vaccine doses intended for risk groups as part of a large EU collective order.