FACT CHECK: Did The WHO Make A Coronavirus Infographic Warning Against Unprotected Sex With Animals?

Matt Noel | Fact Check Reporter

An image shared on Facebook more than 1,000 times purportedly shows a World Health Organization (WHO) infographic advising people to avoid unprotected sex with animals to reduce their risk of contracting coronavirus.

“Solid advice,” reads the caption.

Verdict: False

The infographic has been photoshopped to replace the word “contact” with “sex.”

Fact Check:

Misinformation about the new coronavirus, which has killed some 170 people, has been spreading rapidly across social media in recent weeks. In this case, the post features a doctored WHO infographic recommending, among other strategies, for people to avoid having unprotected sex with animals.

The real infographic, tweeted out by the WHO Jan. 30, actually suggests “no unprotected contact with live wild or farm animals.”

Other WHO recommendations to reduce the risk of contracting coronavirus include washing hands, covering the mouth and nose while coughing and sneezing, avoiding close contact with people suffering from cold or flu-like symptoms and thoroughly cooking meat and eggs.

Researchers are still learning how exactly the new coronavirus spreads from person to person, but transmission is most likely between people with close contact, according to Fox News. On Jan. 30, the United States and South Korea confirmed its first cases of person-to-person transmission.

According to the WHO’s Jan. 30 report, there have been 7,818 confirmed cases of coronavirus around the world, with 7,736 of those occurring in China and 82 occurring in other countries. Only five confirmed cases of the virus have been documented in the U.S. (at the time of publication), according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency on Jan. 30, after the virus spread from China to at least 18 other countries.

Matt Noel

Fact Check Reporter
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