Thursday
25th Apr 2024
Dhivehi Edition
MP Shiyaam. Photo: Majlis
Naifaru Constituency Member of Parliament Ahmed Shiyam has urged authorities to launch contact tracing on all individuals suspected of having had sex with Bangladeshi sex worker MD Alamgir.
In a tweet posted, Shiyam had quoted World Health Organization (WHO) decision to call a global health emergency over the monkeypox outbreak.
On Saturday, WHO declared a global health emergency, following a worldwide upsurge in monkeypox cases. More than 16,000 cases from 75 countries have been reported so far, with five fatalities.
Monkeypox was first discovered in central Africa in the 1950s. Initial symptoms typically include a high fever, swollen lymph nodes and a blistery, chickenpox-like rash or lesions - often on the mouth or genitals in the recent cases. Infections are usually mild.
The outbreak is overwhelmingly concentrated in gay and bisexual men.
Shiyam said that MD Alamgir and his partners need to be subject to contact tracing and treatment, if monkeypox is detected. As premarital and same sex acts are banned under Islamic shariah, Shiyam had also called for an investigation in the sex ring.
Some media sources had reported that the sex ring involved over 250 people. Several high-profile government figures, police officers, and political insiders are rumored to be participants.