Russia dismisses monkeypox worries, echoes Cold War AIDS denial

For the past few weeks, there has been a noticeable increase in monkeypox cases in Western Europe. The disease previously occurred primarily in Africa but is increasingly found on the old continent. The situation has developed to the point where the World Health Organization announced in August that it constitutes a "global public health threat."

Just this year, outside of Africa, more than 109,000 cases of infection and 208 deaths have been recorded. By comparison, until May 2022, there were only 131 cases and 106 suspected cases. Despite the significant increase in infections in Europe, there is calm in Russia because it adheres to "traditional values" that protect it from infections.

Considering the specifics of the spread of monkeypox, I am absolutely certain that in the Russian Federation, with its traditional values, this disease is not terrible. We do not expect any spread of the virus, and there will be none, stated Anna Popova, head of Rospotrebnadzor, which is the Russian counterpart of the sanitary inspection.

In her statement to the Telegram channel Shot, the head of Rospotrebnadzor also stated that only homosexuals are at risk of infection. As noted by experts from independent media, the woman's statement is strikingly similar to one given by Anatoly Potapov during the Cold War.

AIDS has been raging in America since 1981; it is a Western disease. We have no grounds for the spread of this infection because there is no drug addiction, homosexuality, or prostitution in Russia, said the USSR Minister of Health, Anatoly Potapov.

Just a year after Potapov's words, the USSR authorities, fighting the AIDS epidemic, officially acknowledged the existence of this disease. Despite the Health Minister's declaration, Russia has not been able to deal with the virus to this day, recording millions of cases every year.