After third monkeypox case: Aids-Hilfe launches campaign
Following the emergence of three cases of monkeypox in Switzerland, Aids-Hilfe has launched a prevention campaign. The campaign also aims to prevent the stigmatization of gay men, as Aids-Hilfe announced on Friday.
The latest Swiss monkeypox case was confirmed by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) on March 26, 2022. Affected is a 42-year-old man from the canton of Zurich, who probably contracted the virus abroad, as the Zurich Health Directorate announced on Twitter on Friday The other cases from Bern and Geneva are also men who presumably contracted the virus abroad.
Meanwhile, more than 200 cases of monkeypox have been confirmed outside Africa, according to EU health officials. A total of 19 countries where the disease is not normally found would have confirmed at least one case.
So far, most cases have involved men who have sex with men, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said Wednesday night.
Posters in relevant places
The FOPH has therefore entrusted the Swiss AIDS Federation with the implementation of the campaign, according to a joint statement by the AIDS Federation and Pink Cross.
The health centers and checkpoints associated with the Aids-Hilfe have already been informed, says Andreas Lehner, managing director of the Aids-Hilfe Schweiz. In addition, they are trying to inform men who have sex with men specifically online and at relevant meeting places.
A special focus of the campaign is to ensure that gays and bisexuals are not stigmatized, Lehner added. In the course of the AIDS crisis, such stigmatization occurred. This must be prevented. Moreover, according to the current state of knowledge, it could also be pure coincidence that it is mainly men who have sex with men who have been infected so far. (sda.)
Monkeypox information on aids.ch
