RADIO TAIWAN INTERNATIONAL – Taiwan is buying doses of a smallpox vaccine to help prevent the spread of monkeypox.
The news on Friday comes the day after health authorities listed monkeypox as a category 2 communicable disease.
[Last week, the US Centers for Disease Control urged gay men to masturbate six feet apart from one another instead of engaging in close contact sexual encounters like anal an oral sex. It’s apparent that authorities such as Taiwan’s national health agency don’t believe that this advice will have much impact on male homosexual behavior or the spread of monkeypox. – HH]
So far, the world has seen over 3,000 cases of the monkeypox spread across more than 40 countries.
Monkeypox is an infectious viral disease. Its symptoms include fever, swollen lymph nodes and a rash similar to one caused by chickenpox.
The World Health Organization says right now, not everyone needs to be vaccinated.
Only certain high-risk categories of people need the shot. They include medical workers who treat patients with monkeypox, people working in hospital labs, and people who come in contact with the patients.
Meanwhile, health authorities say the WHO has held an emergency meeting to assess whether to classify monkeypox as an “international public health emergency.”
