Montreal public health expands monkeypox vaccination to all men who have sex with men
Posted June 14, 2022 12:14 pm.
Last Updated June 14, 2022 2:28 pm.
Public health officials in Montreal are offering monkeypox vaccination to all men who have sex with men. Officials told reporters Tuesday the city is the epicentre of the monkeypox outbreak in North America.
Montreal public health director Dr. Mylène Drouin says sex workers, as well as men who are visiting Montreal and plan to have sex with other men during their visit are among those who are eligible for vaccination.
Although many recent infections around the world are among young men who have sex with other men, the virus can affect anyone through close person-to-person contact.
There have been concerns about how monkeypox is being described, with fears over possible stigmatization.
With some doctors mentioning the spread of the virus between men who have sex with men, some people have likened this comparison to the stigmatization of gay men during the HIV/AIDS crisis, especially in the 1980s.
Read more: Monkeypox outbreaks prompt concern over possible stigma
Monkeypox is spread through contact with sores and items like bedding or towels that have been contaminated. It can also spread through respiratory droplets such as coughs and sneezes. While the virus is not known to transmit through semen, vaginal or rectal fluids, it does spread through close contact during sexual activity.
Quebec interim public health director Dr. Luc Boileau says there are 132 confirmed cases of the disease in Quebec, with 126 in Montreal.
Canada’s chief public health officer said last week there were a total of 112 cases across the country.
Drouin says all of the monkeypox cases detected in the city so far have been among men who have had sex with other men.
She adds three people have been hospitalized since the beginning of the outbreak but all of them have been discharged.
