The upcoming Pride events in Amsterdam and other cities could lead to a more intensive spread of the monkeypox virus within the Netherlands, according to RIVM. Nevertheless, the Pride Amsterdam organization is not taking any additional measures. “You have to be careful not to stigmatize.”
RIVM talks about men who have sex with men, but the Pride community is much broader than that
The expert council of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) warned earlier today that the upcoming events for the LGBTI community could lead to further spread of the monkeypox virus in the Netherlands. The disease mainly occurs in men who have sex with men. The monkeypox virus has so far been detected in more than two hundred people in the Netherlands, and RIVM expects this number to continue to rise for the time being, possibly with a boost by the Prides that are on the program.
However, a spokesperson for Pride Amsterdam currently sees no reason to take additional measures because of the monkey pox virus. “You have to be careful not to stigmatize by addressing a very general group about this. RIVM talks about men who have sex with men, but the Pride community is much broader than that.” He believes that the program of the event is also far from this. “You don’t go to Pride for changing contacts, but to express yourself for equal rights and to be whoever you want.”
Pride Amsterdam will be held from July 30 to August 7. At the end of July there are also Pink Wednesday in Nijmegen, Pink Monday in Tilburg, Pride Amersfoort and the Milkshake Festival in Amsterdam.
STD Foundation warns
Soa Aids Netherlands has been working for weeks to warn men who have varying sexual contacts with other men about monkey pox. This is done via social media, the Man tot Man website and special flyers and posters that have been sent to all GGDs in the Netherlands. The information was also passed on to the catering industry that is specifically aimed at this target group.
“The information is mainly about explaining what ‘monkeypox’ is, what the risks are, how to recognize it and when to see a doctor,” said a spokeswoman for the organization. Soa Aids Nederland is ‘absolutely in favor’ of vaccinating men who are at high risk because they have different partners. “That is the best way to contain the virus. We hope that the minister will make a decision about this,” said the spokeswoman.
The spokeswoman emphasizes that monkey pox is not a sexually transmitted disease. ,,So we’re not going to say: you shouldn’t have sex. We’re just saying that people should be alert to certain symptoms. People who are infected should be in isolation and no longer have contact with other people.”
Fetish Festival
The first infected people in the Netherlands were visitors to a fetish festival in Belgium, but in recent weeks fewer and fewer positively tested people have been abroad. This means that the virus is spreading more and more within the Netherlands. The youngest patient is 23, the oldest 64. Almost two in three infected people live in the Amsterdam region.
The chance that infected people will transmit the virus to their environment is also fairly small. In everyone who contracted the virus, this happened after ‘intensive physical contact, including sexual contact’. That is why people from the wider area no longer have to quarantine for three weeks, as long as they do not have any complaints themselves. Health Minister Kuipers decided this last week on the advice of the Expert Council.
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