After China's first case of monkeypox imported from abroad, a senior epidemic prevention expert from the Beijing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention proposed to the public that the prevention of monkeypox infection is "do not touch foreigners' skin", but it caused an uproar. The expert's advice has also been criticized for lack of scientific basis, and even reduced to a joke.
On Friday (September 16), the first confirmed case of
monkeypox in China was reported in Chongqing, a city in southwestern China.
Since this is the first official announcement that this highly contagious
disease, which has been spreading in Europe and the United States for a while,
has landed in China, and the official has clearly pointed out that this is an
imported case from abroad, however, the emergence of confirmed cases of
monkeypox from all walks of life in China is still unresolved. If you are
facing a big enemy, you are quite nervous.
Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and director of the Intervention Office of
the Center for STD and AIDS Prevention and Control, posted on Weibo Saturday
his medical advice on monkeypox prevention, claiming close human-to-human
contact It is the most common mode of transmission of monkeypox, including
direct body-to-skin contact.
"Compared with sexual transmission, direct body-to-skin
contact is more likely to spread monkeypox," Wu said.
"In order to prevent possible monkeypox infection, and
as part of our daily healthy lifestyle, it is recommended not to have direct
skin-to-skin contact with foreigners," Wu Zunyou wrote.
Wu Zunyou also urged not to have skin-to-skin contact with
people who have recently returned from abroad within three weeks, and not to
have skin-to-skin contact with strangers.
As the chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for
Disease Control and Prevention, Wu Zunyou's advice on how to prevent monkeypox
has been widely disseminated, reprinted and shared on the Chinese Internet and
social media. But the comments section of his original post was blocked on both
Sunday and Monday.
Some netizens questioned Wu Zunyou under the repost or
screenshot of Wu Zunyou's post, saying that many foreigners are already
resident in China, and due to the prevention and control measures, it is
impossible to leave China and return to their motherland after the outbreak of the
new crown epidemic. These foreigners in China are also more likely to spread
the monkeypox virus than the Chinese?
Reuters said in its report that it had tried to contact Wu
Zunyou for his opinion on online comments on his posts, but received no immediate
response.
According to a later announcement from the CDC, the first
confirmed case of monkeypox imported from abroad in Chongqing was actually a
29-year-old Chinese citizen. This person flew from Spain to Chongqing on
September 14, and he did not pose a significant risk of transmission because he
was placed under quarantine upon his arrival in Chongqing.
A statement issued by the Chongqing Municipal Health and
Health Commission also said that all those who were in close contact with the
confirmed cases have been isolated and placed under medical observation.
About 90 countries around the world have reported sporadic
confirmed cases of monkeypox, but it has not yet become a pandemic. The World
Health Organization (WHO) has declared it a global health emergency. There are
now more than 60,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox globally, and initial related
deaths have been reported in some countries that have not yet experienced a
pandemic.
Wu Zunyou pointed out in his post that there are currently
52,996 confirmed monkeypox patients in the world, 18 have died, and the
fatality rate is 0.03%. But he specifically pointed out that in recent times,
monkeypox cases and death rates have increased rapidly.
As China's top epidemiologist, Wu Zunyou's advice on
monkeypox prevention was criticized by many of his roughly half a million
followers.
Some netizens believe that Wu Zunyou has overturned a
boatload of people in the prevention of monkeypox, and "into a separate
book" for foreigners and overseas immigrants. Obviously, there are
discriminatory remarks that lack scientific basis. Others thought he lacked the
basic qualities and empathy that are most important as a medical staff, and expressed
it in a surprising way.
"(He) forgot the widespread discrimination against
Wuhan people at home and abroad in the early days of the new crown," a
netizen said.
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