According to Public Health France, the number of cases of monkeypox (mpox) reported every month in France since the start of the year has decreased significantly compared to the number of cases reported in 2022. However, the virus continues to circulate ” low noise,” explains the organization. The number of cases had already increased moderately in December 2023 (seven reported cases) and this increase continued with a monthly number of reported cases varying between 12 and 14 between January and April 2024.
To date, only clade II mpox viruses have been identified and no deaths have been observed. However, one case had to be hospitalized due to bacterial superinfection of the skin lesions. The characteristics of cases reported in 2024 are generally similar to those of previous years, in terms of age, sex, severity or lack of knowledge of the origin of the contamination.
What geographical distribution?
In its report, Public Health France indicates that the Ile-de-France region still concentrates the greatest number of cases. However, several regions reported a higher number of cases over four months than in 2023. These are mainly the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Nouvelle-Aquitaine regions. The other regions affected are Occitanie, PACA, Hauts-de-France, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Normandy.
At the European level, 477 cases of monkeypox were declared by twenty countries other than France as of April 5, 2024 and over the last three months. The main countries concerned are Spain (208 cases), Italy (53), the United Kingdom (33), Portugal (31) and Germany (30).
