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- Page navigation anchor for Monkeypox-related discrimination does not need to happenMonkeypox-related discrimination does not need to happen
The recent article by Halani and colleagues (1) raises several valid points about the emerging monkeypox virus, which was recently declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the WHO. One key fact about monkeypox mentioned within the article is that monkeypox is a viral infection with person-to-person transmission through direct contact or fomites.
At the time of writing this letter, there are nearly 32 000 monkeypox cases around the world (2), affecting primarily men who have sex with men. However, as stated by Halani and colleagues, monkeypox spreads through direct contact or fomites, and thus does not discriminate based on race, gender identity, or sexual identity.
The previous declared Public Health Emergency of International Concern was Covid-19. Covid-19 was first detected in Wuhan, China, and initially only spread within China, an Asian country. As a result, anti-Asian discrimination surged within Canada, culminating in widespread verbal and physical attacks (3). These attacks even affected Asian Canadian healthcare workers, and overall went largely ignored by organizations and the media (4). The scapegoating of a particular group during a public health emergency, such as Asian Canadians during the Covid-19 pandemic, is a tragedy that must not happen again.
Covid-19 is not an Asian virus, and monkeypox is not a LGBTQIA+ virus. As monkeypox gains increasing visibility by the public and media, Canadian physicians have a respo...
Show MoreCompeting Interests: None declared.References
- 1. Halani S, Mishra S, Bogoch II. The monkeypox virus. CMAJ. 2022;194(24):E844-E.
- 2. CDC. 2022 Monkeypox Outbreak Global Map 2022 [Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/world-map.html.
- 3. Chinese Canadian National Council. Anti-Asian Racism Across Canada Two Years Into The Pandemic 2022 [Available from: https://www.covidracism.ca/.
- 4. Shang Z, Kim JY, Cheng SO. Discrimination experienced by Asian Canadian and Asian American health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study. CMAJ Open. 2021;9(4):E998-E1004.