While one expert argues that Toronto’s response to the spread of monkeypox through a marginalized queer community has been ideal, another believes more support is needed. They both agreed that a flashback to the historic stigma of HIV toward men from sexual minorities should be avoided.
The disease, which is endemic in many African countries, spreads through respiratory drops and physical contact. It has infected 194 people in Toronto, and the first Canadian case was reported on May 19 in Montreal.
According to Darrell Tan, a doctor and scientist in the infectious diseases division of Sant Miquel Hospital, municipal public health data combined with the collaboration of international research indicate that more than 99% of smallpox infections in monkeys in non-endemic countries they are of men who have sex with men (MSM).
Following the guidelines of the Ontario Ministry of Health, Toronto has provided vaccine clinics only to men of sexual minorities. However, it is a backbone where the city falls flat, said Michael Kwag, director of knowledge sharing and policy development at the Community-Based Research Center.
[1/2] #Monkeypox is a viral disease currently circulating in Canada. It is usually a mild illness and most people recover on their own after a few weeks. pic.twitter.com/VvQE6oUOM9
– Health Canada and PHAC (@GovCanHealth) June 28, 2022
“We’re seeing on social media that smallpox can sometimes be called mild, which makes sense compared to smallpox, but many people with smallpox are reporting symptoms that would hardly be considered minor,” Kwag said. For example, he continued, people can have extremely painful injuries, and when they are sent home to isolate and wait for the disease, they only have access to over-the-counter medications and to heal open sores.
“There’s a lot of concern within the (queer) community as a whole … that it’s a health issue that’s not getting the attention it deserves.” Kwag argued that there should be greater support, for better treatment of the disease and for providing economic and financial support, similar to the benefits of Canada’s COVID-19, to the infected.
Tan noted that the antiviral tecovirimate used for severe cases, a decision with which Kwag expressed frustration, has only “little availability.”
On the other hand, Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at Toronto General Hospital, was positive in the city’s responses, such as the commitment to community organizations, such as The 519, to offer vaccine clinics in Toronto. areas of easy access for MSM and dedicated communication strategies for the same. community. He is unsure of how this will develop and stresses that the disease should be taken seriously. But Bogoch said, “If we had to be 30,000 feet wide,” Toronto is doing the right thing? “Then yes, these are the fundamental pillars of a response to an outbreak.”
Kwag said so far about 10,000 doses of the vaccine have been given in the city.
Aaron Clarke, resource coordinator and education for the gay men’s community at the Toronto AIDS Committee (ACT), said there is “a stigma that monkeypox only affects [MSM] community. Yes, it is disproportionately affecting MSM, but it should be a concern for everyone’s health. “
Bogoch explained unbalanced community infections. “Without moralization, without stigma, without any discrimination, we know that there can be more [direct and close] contacts within some segments of the [MSM] community. ”
As a gay man who has worked on HIV and sexual health for nearly two decades, Kwag understands the bias his community faces and how these feelings can be used to “feed ignorance and prejudice against people of our community “. He added: “I think that ultimately one of the most important ways we can counter the stigma … is to address it properly, making sure this is not out of control.”
And in that sense, Bogoch agrees, though he doesn’t think more needs to be done. Right now, in July 2022, he said, the vast majority of the general public has an “insignificant risk for this infection,” and even among the queer community, the risk of infection is only low to moderate.
For more information on monkeypox in Toronto, check out the city’s website here.