Health authorities in Texas (United States) confirmed on Tuesday the death of a person suffering from monkeypox.

The role of the disease in the death of this patient, "severely immunocompromised", is however still under examination.

If confirmed, this death would be the first caused by monkeypox in the United States since the beginning of the epidemic.

“I believe further investigation is needed to determine what role monkeypox may or may not have played in his death,” a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) official said on Tuesday.

The gay community particularly affected

“It is important to emphasize that dying from monkeypox remains very rare, even if it is possible”, added the official during the press conference, specifying that only “a handful” of deaths had been recorded on “ more than 40,000 cases” in the world.

Since May, the United States has recorded 18,100 cases.

The number of new infections appears to have slowed recently.

The epidemic primarily affects the LGBT+ community and gay men, and most transmissions take place during sexual intercourse.

Since the start of the epidemic, about half of men who have sex with other men have reduced their number of partners, one-night stands or their use of dating apps, according to a CDC study. .

Vaccines distributed at LGBT events

To curb the epidemic, the United States has focused on the distribution of vaccines.

Doses will be specifically made available at major LGBT events.

These include the "Black Pride" in Atlanta, two events in Oakland (California), and the Southern Decadence festival in New Orleans this weekend.

The government has also launched an initiative to target smaller events, in particular to reach minorities more.

The aim is in particular to make the vaccine accessible to the "voguing and house [music] communities", which attract "a lot of young people and people of color", according to Dr Demetre Daskalakis, deputy epidemic response coordinator. for the White House.

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