Among his sexual contacts, five later tested positive for mpox, WHO said. “This is the first definitive proof of sexual transmission of monkeypox in Africa,” Oyewale Tomori, a Nigerian virologist who sits on several WHO advisory groups, said. The agency described the recent mpox outbreak as “unusual” and said it highlighted the risk the disease could spread widely among sexual networks. Those figures are roughly double the mpox toll in 2020, making it Congo's biggest-ever outbreak, WHO said. “Sexual transmission of monkeypox is likely established here, but (gay) communities are hiding it because of the draconian (anti-LGBTQ+) laws in several countries,” he added.

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Persons: Oyewale, Mpox, Virologist Tomori, ”, Tomori Organizations: World Health Organization, WHO, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Congo, Belgium, Africa, Nigerian, Europe, Kinshasa, South Kivu, North America