Montreal Director of Public Health Dr. Milen Drouin attends a press conference in Montreal on February 24, 2021. Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press
Health officials in Montreal say men who have sex with men should get vaccinated against monkeypox instead of limiting the number of people they have sex with.
The city’s director of public health, Dr. Milen Drouin, says vaccination against the disease remains the best strategy to reduce transmission in the city’s LGBT community.
Her message differs from that released Wednesday by Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, who recommended that men who have sex with men limit their number of sexual partners and practice safe sex.
Drouin says her office is taking a harm reduction approach to monkeypox and says people should use the same safe-sex practices to protect themselves from monkeypox that they normally use to prevent other sexually transmitted infections .
There are 299 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Montreal and six people have been hospitalized. The disease mainly affects men who have sex with men.
Drouin says the outbreak appears to have plateaued in Montreal, but since the disease is still spreading to other countries, she says she’s not optimistic it will be eliminated in the city.
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