Declaring Monkeypox Global Health Emergency A Premature Move: Indian Expert

“Monkeypox has now been detected in Europe and the US and several other countries, but if you see other conditions like mortality, the spread potential and the infected pool of the population, all these remain very, very low,” he told Moneycontrol.

On the majority of infections in the current outbreak in men who have sex with men, especially those who have multiple partners, Gangakhedkar said associating monkeypox with any particular sexuality or gender identity would be incorrect. Notably, he was a key figure working on HIV prevention and control strategies in India

“We must be careful about linking monkeypox with a particular sexuality because then it may lead to stigmatisation. This disease can’t be termed as a disease for any particular sexuality or a gender identity, as further studies are needed. Also, how this disease transmits in a couple setting is still unknown,” he said. “Any form of association of monkeypox to a sexuality will increase the chances of people not coming forward fearing disclosure of their sexual identity,” he told the publication.

The challenges ahead

According to the epidemiologist, the challenges of tracing the disease in India are because of the incubation period. The incubation period, the interval from infection to the onset of symptoms of monkeypox is usually from 6 to 13 days but can range from 5 to 21 days, according to WHO.