männer* |II/22

E HEALTH INFECTIOLOGY

E HEALTH INFECTIOLOGY Monkeypox is now called MPX CONDOMS DO NOT PROTECT AGAINST "MONKEYPOX" ... The World Health Organisation (WHO) searched for new official name of the virus. The old name is scientifically misleading, linguistically problematic and will soon be history. Checkpoint BLN used MPX, the abbreviation of the English term in an urgent appeal to the media in mid-June. The reason for the statement: misinformation by Dr. Nicolai Savaskan, head of the health department in Berlin-Neukölln, spread by the public broadcaster rbb of all places: "Savaskan's suggestion that vaccinations should not be used preventively in order to prevent vaccinated people from 'lulling themselves into a false sense of security and neglecting safer sex rules' clearly contradicts the STIKO recommendation and we find it professionally incorrect. We point out that 'safer sex', including the use of condoms, only includes methods to protect against HIV. The term is misleadingly used by Savaskan and suggests that condoms protect against MPX. This is wrong. MPX is transmitted, among other things, through intensive physical contact, e.g. during sex. Condoms are therefore neither an effective nor a sufficient protection against MPX." (Checkpoint BLN) ... VACCINATIONS, HOWEVER! In accordance with the recommendation of the Standing Commission on Vaccination (STIKO), Checkpoint BLN prepared in mid-June for an MPX vaccination campaign for gay, bisexual and other men* who have sex with men* (MSM). The same applies to corresponding facilities and practices throughout Germany. It startet in August, but only on low level with much too less doses. Anyone who likes to have fun with changing partner should roughly observe this: Be careful, have a little less sex and get vaccinated if necessary. Then it will also work to contain the new old viral infection that has been causing a stir in (social) media and the scene since spring. An overview. CONTINUE TO BE MINDFUL! After identifying the infection hot spots Maspalomas Gay Pride (Gran Canaria), Darklands (Antwerp) and SNAX (Berlin), the pandemic commissioner and senior physician of infectiology at the University Hospital rechts der Isar in Munich, private lecturer Dr Christoph Spinner, formulated the somewhat casually formulated recommendations for MSM to männer* like this: "Unlike coronaviruses, poxviruses are not transmitted as an aerosol, i.e. not through the air, but through close skin contact, but also when kissing or caressing. Therefore, visitors to these festivals do not have to stay indoors for the next few weeks, as the risk of infection is not as high. As the incubation period of MPX can be up to three weeks, Spinner advised looking ahead: "If revelers watch their habits a little bit in the coming weeks and reduce intimate skin contact, using good judgment and common sense, we have a good chance of minimising further uncontrolled spread of the virus. {...} It is now important that everyone* does their part to control the spread of infection also by voluntarily and consciously reducing unknown sexual contacts." (25 May 2022) Thanks to summer and the blossoming social life after Corona deprivations, this also applies until further notice. Author: Christian Knuth Current information on männer.media/topics/mpx and www.aidshilfe.de/affenpocken 28 Issue 02

In Berlin gibt es momentan einen großen MPX-Ausbruch, der vor allem Männer betrifft, die Sex mit Männern haben. MPX steht für Monkeypox (Affenpocken) und ist eine Viruserkrankung, die über engen Kontakt übertragen wird. Informiere Dich hier über Dein Risiko und darüber, wie Du Dich schützen kannst. There is currently a large MPX outbreak in Berlin, which mainly affects men who have sex with men. MPX stands for Monkeypox and is a viral disease that is transmitted through close contact. Find out here about your risk and how you can protect yourself. Landesamt für Gesundheit und Soziales