France has decided to strengthen its preventive vaccination strategy in the face of the emergence of a new strain of the Mpox virus, formerly known as monkeypox. Although the epidemic has not yet reached the country, it is raging in 15 African countries. In Hauts-de-France, people at risk can find vaccination centers in each department.
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On August 14, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Mpox epidemic, currently underway in fifteen African countries and particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to be a public health emergency of international concern, the organization’s highest level of alert.
There are currently two strains of the virus (clade 1 and clade 2). At the moment, it is clade 1b, which is particularly dangerous for children, that worries the WHO. A first case of this new variant was reported in North Africa, in Morocco, on September 12. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Africa, since the beginning of the year, 26,544 cases have been reported on the continent, of which 5,732 have been confirmed and 724 people have died. In the rest of the world, in August, one case was detected in Sweden and one case in Thailand.
This viral disease, which spreads from animals to humans, is also transmitted through close physical contact. It causes fever, muscle pain and skin lesions. By 2022, the clade 2 strain of Mpox (less dangerous than clade 1b) had spread to 75 non-endemic countries, including France, with a very low mortality rate of less than 1% (140 deaths for 90,000 cases).
“Mpox is not the new Covid“, said Hans Kuge, WHO’s Europe director. To date, the overall risk to the general population in the European Union/European Economic Area is considered low by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Although no contamination by the new strain of the virus has yet been recorded in France, and the circulation of the 2022 strain remains marginal in the country (143 cases recorded as of September 3), the health authorities have nevertheless decided to strengthen their preventive vaccination strategy.
Already offered since summer 2022, vaccination is thus reinforced in Hauts-de-France with five additional vaccination locations in pharmacies, indicates the Regional Health Agency (ARS) in a press release this Tuesday, September 17.
Vaccination is recommended for people who have had high-risk contact with a sick person and for those who may be exposed to the virus. These include:
- men who have sex with men with multiple sexual partners;
- trans people with multiple sexual partners;
- sex workers;
- professionals working in sexual encounter locations;
- partners or people sharing the same living space as people mentioned above.
Vaccination may also be considered, on a case-by-case basis, for healthcare professionals who are required to care for sick people.
The vaccination schedule includes one to three doses depending on the situation. The High Authority for Health recommends a booster vaccination for people at risk of exposure who have already been vaccinated since 2022.
Vaccination against Mpox is available by appointment, by telephone or on online appointment platforms, in the locations below:
Aisne
- Free information, screening and diagnostic center (CeGIDD) of Saint-Quentin – 5 Rue Arnaud Bisson in Saint-Quentin
- CeGIDD of Laon – Rue Marcellin Berthelot in Laon
- CeGIDD of Soissons – 46 Avenue du Général de Gaulle in Soissons
Oise
- CeGIDD of Beauvais – 91 Rue Saint-Pierre in Beauvais
- CeGIDD of Compiègne – 8 Avenue Henri Adnot in Compiègne
- Pharmacy of the forecourt – 45 bis Rue de la République in Creil
Sum
- CeGIDD of Amiens – 16 Rue Fernel in Amiens
- Infectious and tropical diseases department of the Amiens University Hospital – Rond Point Pr Cabrol in Amiens
- Saint-Maurice Pharmacy – 1 Place Victor Pauchet in Amiens
North
- CeGIDD of Lille – 13 Rue Camille Guérin in Lille
- Large pharmacy of Paris – 1 Place de la gare in Lille
- Esquermoise Pharmacy – 97 Rue Esquermoise in Lille
- CeGIDD of Tourcoing – 155 Rue du Président Coty in Tourcoing
- CeGIDD of Valenciennes – 57 Avenue Faidherbe in Valenciennes
- Fontaine Pharmacy – 10 rue de Paris in Valenciennes
- CeGIDD of Dunkirk – Lower town community center, 49 Rue de la Paix in Dunkirk
- CeGIDD of Grande-Synthe – Coastal health area, 35 rue de la commune de Paris in Grande-Synthe
Pas-de-Calais
- CeGIDD of Lens – 99 Route de La Bassée in Lens
- CeGIDD of CH Calais – 1601 Boulevard des Justes in Calais
- CeGIDD of CH Arras – 3 Boulevard Georges Besnier in Arras
The “Monkeypox info service” telephone system, set up in 2022 by the health authorities, is still accessible to answer questions. Open every day from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., on the toll-free number 0 801 90 80 69 (free, anonymous and confidential call and services), this system is responsible for providing information on symptoms, treatments, preventive measures and vaccination, and for directing people to care systems.
